The Seed of HOPE
by New Wave Rider
Summary: 14,006 A.D: Anti-body Coralians have reappeared & begun the indiscriminate killing of countless innocents. This is the story of a young soldier, Hi, descendant of Renton & Eureka Thurston, & his fight for the future. Edited by Refboarder
1. Chapter 1

**Eureka Seven: The Seed of HOPE**

Written by New Wave Rider

Edited by Refboarder

* * *

**Preview**

14,006 A.D: Human and Coraliankind co-exist side-by-side. There are even human-form Coralian and human couples. Advance science from the Coralians has given birth to a new series of Light Finding Operations, or LFOs, for short. Excavation is no longer the norm, seeds can be planted to breed LFOs. A reign of love, peace, and understanding between the two races has existed for over 2,000 years. The planet itself is an utopia…

However, all this is about to be brought to an abrupt and violent halt. Anti-body Coralians (or Image) have reappeared and begun the indiscriminate killing of countless innocents.

This is the story of a young freedom fighter, Hi (Fire), decedent of Renton and Eureka Thurston, and his fight for the future.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Whispers in the Dark**

"C'mon, Hi!" said the figure in front of me. _'Hi,' that's my name. _(Pronounced 'He') _No not that way. _I followed the figure, captivated by her smile. Her name was Lillian, like the flower, and just as pure. _Stop! _I was hand in hand with the young girl. Today was my 14 birthday and Lillian was all I needed. We entered the building. _Wait! You mustn't go in there! If you do…_

There was a huge tectonic shift. "W-what's happening?" went a frightened Lillian. The ground around us shook violently, rattling our very bones. "W-what's that?" she pointed her trembling finger upwards.

A strange, gigantic, (and quaintly ominous) red cloud, in the shape of a sphere, hovered high above the city. _Grab her! Run! _We stared at it. _Run! _Something was emerging from the sphere. _You must run! Now! _Then, utter chaos. Monstrous beings started…devouring the city. More screaming. I grabbed Lillian's hand and started fleeing. "Hi!" someone yelled. It was my baby sister, Yuki, and she wasn't alone. Mother was with her. _Mother, run! _One of the creatures swooped down behind them. _NO! _It's beastly jaws opened and… mom attempting to shield her beloved daughter with her body…and Yuki's scream. The jaws closed around my parent. Blood, mother's, poured over the scared little girl. "HARU! YUKI!" screamed a man, my father. Action overtook the man. He scooped up the traumatized Yuki and ran towards me. _We must all run! _The building came crumbling down. _Lillian, no!_

…Blackness then, blood on my hands. Mine? _No, Lillian's_. Me searching through the rubble. Lillian's hand. "Hi," went the broken girl. "Lillian!" cried a voice, mine. "Hi, I…" she coughed up blood. "Don't talk. I'll find someone, a doctor." croaked my voice. "No, Hi. I…" said Lillian reaching up to brush my cheek. There was blood on her palm. She lifted her head up and touched her sweet lips against mine. Our first kiss. Breaking the contact she tried saying something to me. "My last gift to you. Hi, I lov…" her bloody hand streaked off my cheek. Lillian's body went limp.

"Lillian? Lillian? LILLIAN!" I screamed shaking her body. "Son, we have to go." said father. I looked over to see him, Yuki cradled in one arm, his other tugging on mine. My body moved, following him. _Father's chest is bleeding, you have to get him to a hospital!_ My body was led to our garage.

"Thurston, James R." father told the system. "Voiceprint confirmed." stated the computerized voice. "Son…SON!" my father shook my body. I looked at him and at the sight of him coughing up blood, I snapped out of my stupor. "You're bleeding!" yelled my voice. "No time for that. I need you to listen to me." he instructed.

There was a LFO in front of us. One I'd never seen before. "What's this LFO?" I asked. "This is the Nirvash, typeHOPE. She is our family's legacy." He coughed up more blood. "And now…your legacy. Use her…use her to bring us back our hope. This I entrust to you. Now take your sister and flee this place! Now…my…son." He collapsed. "Father? FATHER!" bellowed my voice.

I woke up, covered in sweat. "That dream again." I groaned pulling myself out of bed. I glanced over at Yuki, sleeping like the babe she was. _Keep sleeping, I can only hope your dreams are better than your pathetic onii-san._ I limped over to the bathroom and washed my face. I stared at the scruffy boy looking back at me in the mirror. _Disgusting._

My name is Hi. You pronounce it 'he'. It means 'fire' in an ancient language. And lately, I'm a raging inferno. I lost my friends, my parents, the woman who meant the world to me, and inherited the planet's last remaining HOPE, one year ago today. My little sister is the only family I have left and I'll do whatever I have to, to protect her, no matter what the cost. I've faked my age to become a soldier for IEF, the Image Extermination Forces.

…My name is Hi and today is my 15th birthday.

* * *

**A/N: Some of may recognize this story from Refboarder's account. Now before you try and get rid of my account lets clear some things up. At the time I didn't have an e-mail, let along an account here, so I asked Refboarder to post this story on his account for me, which he did. Now that I have both, this will be my story's new home. Also, Refboarder has removed the story from his account so, this is the only place you can view it now. ****Thanks again, Ref, for everything!**

**Please continue to leave reviews for this like you did when it was on Refboarder's account. I always enjoyed reading the comments. Thanks!  
**

**~Wave  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Like Toy Soldiers**

(7:30 A.M. Location: Belle Forest IEF Academy)

_The Barracks_

"Alright, you maggots, I'm your Staff Sergeant, Keith." A sinister smile formed on the rugged man's face. "And for the next 5 months, I'll be your worst nightmare. My job is to mold you into the best soldiers possible. Under my guidance, I _will_ turn you into the best of the best, the elite of the elite. When I address you the first and last words out of those mouths will be 'sir'. Am I understood?" the drill sergeant barked. "Sir, yes, sir!" answered his troops. "Jeez, someone's got their panties in a bunch." Said female trooper next to me. She held out her hand. "Name's Emma." She stated. I glanced at her hand before shaking it. "I'm… err, Blaze." I replied. "Blaze, huh? That's a funny name. How old are you kid?" she asked. "Sixteen." I lied. "Cool, I'm sixteen too." She grinned. "Something you two want to share with the rest of us?" barked Keith addressing us. "Sir, no, sir!" Emma and I answered in sync. "Then I'd shut those pie holes of yours' before I shut them for you!" he warned. "Sir, yes, sir!" we responded. "Alright, dismissed!" he grunted. "Sir, yes, sir" we answered as everyone left, except for Emma and I. "So what LFO do you pilot?" I asked "The Flestnia X, it's a variable of the original Flestnia." She explained. (Flestnia is a LFO from Eureka Seven Vol.2: The New Vision, a video game) "Flestnia?!" I exclaimed. "Didn't that belong to Ruri, the girl who helped steal the Nirvash typeZERO?" I asked. "Yeah," she responded, "I found her abandoned in an old junkyard. Or rather, I'd like to say she found me. So what do you pilot?" she asked "Err… the Vendetta, it's similar to the typeZERO but, it has different weapons and it's blue, not white." I lied. "COOL!" she complimented me "Hey, you want to go watch my little sister with me?" I asked her "Sure I have nothing planned this afternoon" she answered "So what's her name?" she asked as we walked down the hall. "Yuki, she's only 4. She'll be turning 5 in two mouths. I'm the only family she has." I sighed looking down at the floor. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to pry." She apologized. "Nah, it's alright." I dismissed it. "Well, at least your lucky." she moaned. I came to a halt "You think… I'm _lucky?_" I squeaked. "Uh-huh, you actually have an _imouto_, I've never had a family, I'm an orphan." she stared down at the floor like she wanted to cry. "Well, we're here." I said as we came to a door. " Room 632, home sweet home" I said with disappointment in my voice " Room 632, aren't the 600 rooms the _really_ derelict rooms?" she asked curiously. "Don't remind me." I grunted "Oh, sorry, Blaze." she apologized "It's O.K." I said.

(2 hours later) (11:30 A.M.)

"She's asleep. Hey, you wanna join me for lunch in the mess hall?" I suggested. "Sure." Replied Emma.

As we sat down the Staff Sergeant announced, "Listen up, the army's only giving you $1,500 for modifications, so use it wisely. You have until 1900 hours to purchase your supplies."

(1:30 P.M.)

"This is _so _cool!" I cheered. "I know. It's sweet." Emma added.** "**So, where're you going, Emma." I asked. "Dotti's Garage." she stated. "You?" she wondered. "The scrape yard, it'll be cheaper." I replied. "You what to come?" I asked "No thanks, but, if you find a LR Laser, tell me, 'kay?" she requested. "You got it, remember we have 6 hours till we have to get back. See you in a bit." I said. "Yeah, later." she responded back.

(4:00 P.M. Location: Scrap yard)

"This is pointless." I groaned. "I've been here for 2 and a half hours, and I'm still no closer than when I started." Then I saw it, in the corner of the shop was an old Twin LR rifle. It was kinda beat up but still in decent condition. And the price was fair too. _$400. Not too shabby. _I picked up the weapon to inspect it. "Something I can help you with?" went an old voice from behind. I spun around to confront the voice. An elderly man with square-framed glasses stood before me. "Are you the shop-keep?" I inquired. "That I am. Who are you?" he asked in a raspy tone. "A customer." I answered wearily. "I can see that but, what's your name sonny?" he asked irritated. "Blaze." I answered. " Then follow me, Blaze, and I'll sell it to ya. Oh, by the way the fella who used to own it forgot to remove a shell, so be careful." he informed me. I cautiously held the weapon. _Please don't blow up_. "Hey, could you hold on to this for now, I wanted to look around some more." I requested. "Sure, I'll be up front if you need me." he mentioned.

(5:24 P.M.)

"Cool an entire rack of boomerangs. Lets see what they have." I continued to browse the wares. I glanced at my watch. _5:36, I only have a little over an hour left. Maybe I should_… "Hey, what's this?"

(6:57 P.M. Location: Belle Forest IEF Academy)

"I'm getting worried. Blaze hasn't come back. There's only 3 minutes till time is up." She said to Matt, a fellow teammate. She clutched her stomach in worry.

"Hey guys. Emma, I found that LR Laser for you." I called out to my comrades. Emma's face lit up when she noticed me. _Why's she so happy?_ "Blaze! You made it!" she said enthusiastically. "Well yeah, of course I did. You didn't actually think I'd let my new comrades down, did ya?" I replied wearing a smirk.

"Alright, times up everyone." Came a voice over the loudspeaker. SSG Keith entered the room. "Hope you got what you needed because tomorrow you'll be assembling those weapons. Time to hit the bunks and get some shut-eye. Dismissed." He barked.

I said goodnight to my comrades and returned to my quarters. I opened the door and Yuki greeted me with a big hug. I smiled. "Welcome back, nii-san!" she said. "I'm home." I replied lifting her up. "Were you a good girl today?" I asked with a kind smile. "Uh-huh." She nodded and grinned. "Can you keep a secret?" I whispered to my imouto. She nodded. I reached into my pocket. "I bought you some pocky with my money. Don't tell anyone, 'kay?" I said giving her the candy. "OK, Hi _nii-san_." She happily opened the box. _Yuki, I'll make the world a safer place for you, I promise. _Once she finished I wiped her mouth with a damp cloth and tucked her into bed. I crawled into bed next to her. "Good night, sleep tight, Yuki." I gently said rubbing her head. "Good night, Hi." She cooed shutting her eyes. _I hope I won't be haunted by those ghastly images tonight._ I closed my eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

_The next day…_

The Staff Sergeant had us lined up in a row. "It has been brought to my attention that some of you have been spending your money frivolously." he said in a calm voice. I swallowed hard. _Oh, crap. I'm dead. _He strolled back and forth. "Susan Kimbley, Dimitri Josa, Hillary Jaasen, Dan Marshal, Jill Caraway. Front and center!" he barked. "Sir, yes, sir!" they all said in sync. He started reading off a list of items. "Shoes, dresses, makeup, cheese burgers, movie tickets, a spa?!" he burst. I saw a vein throbbing in his forehead and an eye twitching. The ones called Susan, Dimitri, Hillary, Dan, and Jill cringed. "In all my years of military service I have never seen such a blatant WASTE of MILITARY MONEY!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Pack your belongings, effective immediately, you five are hereby expelled from the academy. Now get out of my sight, I never want to see your faces again!" he screamed at them. "But…" the one named Hillary tried to protest. "Did you not hear me?! I said leave, now!" Keith exploded. I heard the expelled mumble amongst themselves as they marched off. "This sucks." Complained Dan. "Tightwad." muttered Dimitri. The Staff Sergeant heard him. Keith punched him in the face. "Any _other_ wise remarks you want to add?" he glared down at him. "No, sir." Went Dimitri rubbing his jaw. "Good." Said Keith. "The rest of you, get to work on installing your weapons. On the double!" he ordered us. "Sir, yes, sir!" we responded.

I was paired with Emma and Matt again. "Looks like fate has brought us together again, doesn't it?" she remarked. I looked at her. "Fate?" I repeated. _Just what did she mean by that? Meh, whatever. _

(30 min. later)

"Good, I see that all of you have finish your assembling your LFOs. That will be all for today. Tomorrow you'll begin your foot training. You'll be equipped with paintball guns and your goal will be to capture the flag. I'll fill you up on the details tomorrow, dismissed." he shouted "Sir, yes, sir." we all said in sequence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3  
**

**Click, Click, Boom  
**

_(8:00 A.M. Training Grounds)_  
"All right everyone listen up, today we are going to be starting our training. Today we are going to be playing a little game called…capture…the…flag." Keith said with a smirk on his face. "You'll be using these." Each of us were given a paintball gun and a pair of goggles. The SSG wore a grin that stretched ear to ear. We all looked at each other confused. "Sir, with all due respect. We'll be piloting LFOs so why are we doing this…sir." one person asked. "Because, if you're shot down you'll need to know how to survive on foot. You won't be of much use to us dead." he answered. "You'll be split in groups of three." he informed the trainees.

"Blaze, you're the captain. You'll be issuing orders." he stated. "Yes, sir!" I replied. "Matt, you'll be a scout. You're in charge of reconnaissance." he barked. "Yes, sir!" he answered. "Emma, you're paired with Blaze. You'll be support. Your job is to watch his back." He told her. "Sir, yes, sir!" she replied. "There'll be a single LFO guarding the flag and another team trying to prevent you from reaching it. You'll have to take them out first before you can progress." Keith informed us. A wily grin formed on the Staff Sergeant's face. "Oh, I'm going to be enjoying this." he said under his breath as he licked his lips.

Keith flipped his clip book to the next page and began reciting our schedule. "Your schedule will be as followed:9:00-10:00 Hand-to-hand combat, 10:00-11:00A.M; LFO training, 11:15-12:00 P.M; Lunch, 12:15-1:00 P.M; Target practice, 1:15-6:30 P.M, you will do them again in that time, however you can do them in any in any order you are. Hell, I don't care. Do all of them or 1... just do them!!" he barked at the top of his lunges. "However from 6:35-10:00 P.M. I don't give a damn what you do as long as you don't do any funny business and I think you know what I mean by that boys. Alright, Team 1 vs. Team 3; Team 2 vs. Team 6; Team 4 vs. Team 7; and Team 5 vs. Team 8. You'll be the firsts to do the hand-to-hand combat". He said.

"Um… sir, what about the schedule, sir." A person from the second team asked. "Oh that. No, that's for teams 1 through 8. The rest of you, your schedules are on the doors of your dorms. Alright, now get to your stations lets move. The rest of you will find your real schedules on your doors." he said with a chuckle. "Dismissed." he said loudly.

_(9:00 A.M. F.S. Training Ground)_  
As we all put our protective suits on Keith came in. "So are you all ready? Good." he said with his hands behind his back. We were team 6 and in Stadium B. It was a huge rectangle with the entrance on one of the long sides. It was filled with single walls, hallways, and empty room which were for hiding. It was Emma, Matt and I. We were on the left side of Keith and team 2 which was Helga, Izumi, and Jean was on the right side of him. "The rules are simple". he announced. "First team to capture the other team's flag wins. You get shot and you're out for the rest of the game." he stated. "START!" the officer yelled.

_(9:45 training ground)_  
"This isn't going so good, we haven't seen them." Matt complained. "Matt, go and look again" I ordered. "But I've do it ten times already" he said complaining again. "NOW!" I barked. "Fine _fearless leader_, but I won't find anything." he said as he flew on his refboard.

A few moments later he returned. "…I-I found them." he said with a grin. "See, I told you that you could find 'em. So where are they?" I asked. "Two hallways down on the right and they're just sitting there guarding the flag." he said with joy. "I say we take them now." he said clutching his fist. "Wait, this could be a trap. If we go straight on we'll get shot and lose." I said with reason. "OK, so what are we gonna do?" he asked. "Well, I've got an idea." I told him.  
_  
(5 min. later)_  
"Only 10 more minutes left and it'll be a tie, I told you this would work." Helga said with a smirk. "NOW!!" I yelled. Emma came around the corner and ran underneath Izumi's mech where she couldn't be seen. Then she started climbing up it and placed herself in front of the cockpit. "Ugh! WHAT THE HELL!!?" she screamed. "Ha, I've got you. Now take this!!" Emma screamed. Emma unloaded her paintball gun at the enemy's LFO cockpit, blinding the pilot view. Izumi panicked and quickly tried wiping the windshield but, it was too late. "I can't see!" she yelled. Now was our chance. We rushed them head-on.

"Jean get on your board and keep the flag safe" Helga ordered. "B-But..." he began to protest. "That's an order!" Helga yelled cutting off Jean. "Yes sir" Jean said with his head down.

"Matt, you got a shot?" I radioed. "I'm working on it, Captain." He replied. "C'mon, hold still so I can hit you." Matt said looking through the scope on his gun. "Gotcha!" went Matt sniping Jean off his board. Matt ran for the flag. "Someone, stop him!" yelled Helga. _Go, Matt! You can do it._ He climbed up the hill, stretched his arm out and grabbed the flag. Game over, we won. "WHAT THE HELL just happened?!" she yelled.

"You just lost, that's what!" boasted Matt waving the flag for us to see. "Good work, team." I told Emma and Matt. "Nice job, blinding the LFO, Emma." I said to her. "Matt, that shot was amazing." I complimented him. "Thanks, Blaze." went my comrades. "C'mon, let's go celebrate. Drinks are on me tonight." I said hanging my arms around their shoulders as we walked away.

_(10:05)_  
"Teams 2 and 6 time for LFO training and just like in this last one your jobs are the same. I'll explain the rules once you get there. GO!GO!" went the SSG.

We all hopped in our training LFOs. There were 4 walls that formed a rectangle. 2 of the walls were curved like a ramp except it lead strait up. "The rules are simple, once your LFO starts to smoke you are out. Any other hand held weapons other than the LFO impact rifle are forbidden. You may change forms now!" Jean, Matt, and I transformed into vehicle mode while Izumi, Emma, and Helga didn't. "You three will be allowed to either use our LFO impact rifle now or at random intervals we've set up." he said. "I'll take it now." Matt said. "I'll save it." I decided.  
"As will I." stated Jean. 2 minutes went by as they attached the gun on to the LFO. "Alright, if we're all done with the fusing and insults... BEGIN!!"

"Alright Emma, take the left side, Matt take the right, I'll take the middle. We'll divide them and provide each of us cover." I instructed. And we did just that. I took Izumi, Matt got Jean, and Emma got Helga. I ran straight at her, with my boomerang drawn. Izumi fired her Rail gun in an attempt to keep her distance. _BOOM! _Went the sound of the explosion as the blast hit one of the four pillars.

"Blaze, duck!" Matt said while he was firing at Jean. I quickly ducked and used my boosters just barely missing what fell off the pillar. "Eat this." I shot my Rail gun, hitting the LFO's leg. I noticed the pillar was about to collapse, so I quickly turbo boosted again before it fell. "Hey Izumi, you're about to go airborne _without_ the board!" As I came closer I quickly did a back flip while hitting the LFO's back sending it straight into the air. I backed up a bit in order to hit her with the gun. Landing two hits it finally fell. As it was about to hit the ground I sliced my blade through the LFO's back.

"Dammit!!" cried Izumi. "Guess I got lucky." I said smugly.

_Meanwhile, as I was fighting..._  
_Matt_  
"Kyah! Take this!" I said firing six shots, only two hit but it did stun the LFO. I looked over to see a pillar explode. "Look out!" I said to Blaze as half of a damn pillar was about to crush him. Meanwhile, Jean was getting up. "How about you …eat…this!" Jean threw his boomerang. "AAAHHH." I went as my LFO fell to the ground with a loud _boom_. "So, do you yield?" he was on top of me with his boomerang pointed towards my cockpit.

"Blaze, I need backup, NOW!" I said panicking. "I see you. Get your boomerang ready." he said locking on to Jean. "I would if there weren't a two ton robot on top of me ready to kill me, man!" I retorted. "Alright, just hold still and let me take it from here." he instructed. "Roger." I held as still as possible when I realized what the hell Blaze was about to do. "Hey asshole!" a voice came out of nowhere.

Suddenly Blaze smashed into Jean. "Leave my comrades alone!" he knocked down him down and got up. "OK Matt, light this prick up." he said. "With pleasure, sir." I held my gun up and shot the LFO three times directly. And with a loud boom, the LFO came down.

_Hi_  
"Hey Emma, you need any help?" there was a huge cloud of smoke. As the dust cleared, there was one LFO on its chest and one standing next to it. "Nope, I'm good" _Thank god she was the one standing. _Throughout the day we excelled in every course with the exception of one: shooting. Emma's accuracy with a pistol was...well, just plain bad.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**

**Dirty Little Secret  
**

Ever since that day we've done the same thing, switching jobs. It's been three weeks. All I can think about is becoming a great pilot like my ancestors, Renton and Eureka Thurston. …And strangely enough, Emma. I haven't thought about another girl since...Lillian. But, to be honest, during my time here, the only thing it's been is boring.

I was walking down the halls when I heard it, a bloodcurdling scream coming from Emma's room. I ran to her door only to find it locked. More screaming. "I DON'T WANT TO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" I heard her cry out. "Emma, what's wrong?! Open out!" I called to her. "NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP TOUCHING ME!" she screamed. _Oh hell no, screw that crap!_ I broke down the door and rushed in. "Emma, where are you?!" I yelled frantically.

I found her, cowering in the corner of the bathroom clutching her as if she had a violent migraine. There was brunette hair dye in the sink. "Emma, what's wrong?!" I asked kneeling down to her level. She froze up at the sound of my voice. "B-Blaze?" she said in a quivering tone. I've never seen her like this. I looked around the room, but saw no one. _What has her so frightened?_ She removed her hands from her head revealing strands of electric blue hair underneath. "What the?!" I took a step back. _Did she dye her hair blue? And if so, why?_

She sniffled and wiped away the tears in her eyes. Something fell out one of them. She cursed and quickly used her hand to cover the eye. I looked down to see what fell out. _A contact? _I picked up the small hazel disc. "Emma? What's this about?" I asked in then gentlest tone. She slowly removed her hand. What I saw behind it, completely shocked me. "My god," I gasped. _Amethyst eyes. _"Y-you're a Coralian!" I exclaimed. She shook her head. "No Blaze, I'm an abomination!" wept Emma. "Huh? What are you talking about? You're no abomination." I told her.

She stood up. "Yes, I am. I'm a spy sent by the Image." she said in a cold tone. "What? Stop that. That's not funny." I said in disbelief. "My real name is Zita." went Emma. She began talking deliriously about herself, as if a fever had overtaken her.

"The Image made me in likeness to Eureka and Sakuya. I was 'born' the same day the Image reappeared. My mission is…" she paused. "My mission _was _to discover the weaknesses in humans and Coralians. Within this body lies a destructive force." Emma/Zita placed her hand over her chest. I continued to stare at her in disbelief. _It's not true, it can't be._

"But, I don't want this! There's so many things! So many things I've discovered about this world, in the short time I've been alive, which are so beautiful!" she clung to me as she cried. "Blaze, help me! I don't want this mission or power! All I want is to live peacefully with you!" she gasped and quickly covered her mouth. But, it was too late, Emma had just admitted her deepest, darkest, secret desire. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." she began apologizing. I cut her off.

"Hi...Hi Thurston. That's _my_ real name." I told her. Her eyes widened. "Then that means," she gasped. "That I'm a descendant of Renton & Eureka Thurston, and my LFO is really the Nirvash typeHOPE. Yes." I answered. Now _she_ stared at me in disbelief. "So what if you're Image?! I don't care what your mission is or what power you possess! I say screw them both and you should too! You're you! You are Emma, _not_ Zita, and I am Blaze, _not_ Hi. You hear me?!" I told her firmly.

She gazed into my sky blue eyes. Tears began flowing from the girl with amethyst eyes. "Hi, I..." she wept. "Your secret is safe with me." I reassured Emma as I brought her close. I felt a burning desire within me to shield this girl from any harm. _I remember. I've felt this way before, about someone else, just one... Lillian. It seemed so long ago._ "I'll protect you, Emma. I swear, from the bottom of my heart, I'll protect you. Even if I have to forsake the world." I pledged to the sobbing girl. I tilted her chin up and brought my lips to meet her own.

I meant only to consol her but, time seemed to halt as we stood there, lips passionately locked, before we broke contact. Not for the sake of modesty, but for oxygen. "Now, smile for me, Emma." I requested. She did. "Thank you, Blaze." she whispered into my chest as we held each other.

Just then I heard what sounded like the shuffle of feet outside the door. "Stay here." I told her. She nodded. I ran to investigate the noise. I saw a shadowy figure running away. I chased after the figure until I caught up with it and tackled the shadow to the ground. I turned the person over to face me as I pulled back my fist, ready to punch whomever it was. But then, stopped. _"Matt?"_ I said once I recognized him. "Hey," he said. My eyes hardened. "How much did you hear?" I asked him.

"Everything..._Hi Thurston. _About you, about..._Zita_. So, you're the descendant of the great Renton and Eureka." answered Matt. "You'd be wise to forget what you heard." I told him. "Are you threatening me, _Blaze_?" he asked. "Yes." I said flatly. "_Zita's_ an Image spy." he protested. I shook my head. "No, she's _Emma_, and she's our comrade." I replied sternly. Matt looked at me with disdain. "You _love_ her, don't you?" he said sounding almost disgusted._ Did I_? "I...yes." I realized.

He studied me as if to see if I could be persuaded. When my expression didn't change he sighed, defeated. "Alright, I get it. I'll keep my mouth shut about you two." he promised. "Thanks, Matt." I said. "But, if I see_ Emma_ do anything suspicious, I'm reporting her. Got it?" he stated. "Understood." I replied. "Now, would you please get off me?" he requested. I did and helped him to his feet. The two of us leered each other for a brief moment. "See you later, _Captain Blaze._" he waved. A thought crossed my mind as Matt left. _What have I gotten myself into?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5  
**

**First Date**

It's been awhile since I found out about Emma. And to tell you the truth, even if she is a spy, I know one thing, that she'd never do anything to hurt me. Since that day, we've stuck close to each other. Emma and I were doing pushups when Matt came along. "Hey Blaze, could I talk to you for a sec?" Matt asked. "Sure. I'll be right back." I told Emma. He led me to an alley. "It seems like you two are…hitting it off." he said.

"W-what?! It's nothing like that, we mainly talk about LFOs or other stuff." I stuttered. "OK whatever man. It's none of my business. I'm just worried about you." he said. "There's nothing to worry about, Emma will..." I began. "Will never hurt us. Yeah, yeah, I know." he finished my sentence. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said the other day. I misjudged you...both of you." he apologized.

"So, what are you gonna do?" he asked vaguely. "Do?" I repeated. "About Emma. You told me the other day you loved her." he elaborated. My face turned red. "You _have _asked her out haven't you?" he pressed. "I...no, not yet." I admitted. "So let me get this straight; you love the girl but, you haven't even asked her out yet? That kinda sounds one-sided." he face-palmed. I felt embarrassed. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later. I've just remembered there's something I need to do." he left with a big grin.

_Meanwhile..._

_Zita_

"Hey Emma, got a sec?" came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see a girl with pink hair. "Oh hi, Izumi." I replied. "So, has he asked you yet?" she said in a high pitched voice. "Has who asked what?" I said confused. "Blaze. Has he asked you out yet?" elaborated Izumi.

"Why would he ask me out?" I said blushing. "You guys hang out all the time. You mean to tell me he hasn't?" she sounded shocked. I shook my head. "Well have you asked him?" she pressed. I shook my head again. "Jeez, you two are hopeless." sighed Izumi. _Huh? _"Well, I guess I'll see ya." she left me. _What was that all about?_

_Hi_

I returned to Emma. "So what did Izumi want?" I asked her. "Nothing much." she replied. "What about Matt? What he want with you?" she wondered. "Nothing much." I said. Our exercises continued.

(7:00 P.M. cabin)

Yuki was sitting on the bed waiting for me. "Hi!" she cheered rushing to hug me. "Hey, Yuki did you miss me?" I asked in a gentle voice. "Uh-huh." she smiled. *_Knock, knock.*_ I went to the door to see who it was. _Matt?_ "What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Who is it, Hi?" came Yuki's voice. "Huh? Who's that?" he asked surprised to hear another voice. "Yuki, could you come here for a moment?" I called to her. Yuki walked over. She looked up at the man standing in the doorway then, quickly retreated behind the safety of her brother's back. "Onii-san." she tugged on my shirt. _"Onii-san?!" _exclaimed Matt. "This is my kid sister, Yuki. And Matt, I think you're scaring her." I explained introducing her. "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know you had a sister. Fire and snow, huh?" he mused referring to our names.

Matt knelt down to her eye-level. "Hello there, Yuki-chan. I'm sorry if I frightened you" he apologized while wearing a gentle smile. Yuki gazed up at me with a cautious expression. "This is Matt. It's alright, he's a friend." I told her. She turned back to Matt. "K-konichawa, Matt-kun." she squeaked. He smiled. "She's cute. How old is she?" he wondered. "Four. She'll be five next month." I answered.

"So anyway, why are you here?" I inquired again. Matt stood up and faced me again. "Oh yeah. Hey Blaze, Keith wants me to run some errands for him but, I'm kinda busy right now." he said. _"And?"_ I pressed. "And I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor and run them for me." he requested. "Matt, I…" I began. _"Please?"_ he pleaded. "Fine." I sighed.

"Here. This is a list of the things he needs. You're going to have to go into town to get them." he handed me a sheet of paper. "And Blaze, don't read it until you get there, 'kay? The items on that list are...err...secret. If Keith finds out that someone else read it…well then…I'm f*cked." he said. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Um... 'kay. Yuki can you stay here just a little longer?" I requested gently. "Yes big brother." she said back in the most innocent voice. "Oh, and Matt?" I said to him. "Yeah?" he responded. I flicked him on the forehead. "Ow, what the hell was that for?!" he demanded rubbing his head. "Watch your mouth around my little sister. I don't want her growing up listening to curses 'kay?" I said sternly. "Oh, sorry about that." he apologized still rubbing the spot.

_Meanwhile…_

_Zita_

I was sitting on the bed, staring up at the ceiling when I heard, *_Knock, knock_**.*** "It's open!" I yelled. "Could you please get it." the voice said from behind the door. "Coming." I opened the door to see Izumi standing there. "Hey, Izumi. What's up?" I asked. "Not much. I need some stuff from town but, I'm really busy right now. Could you do me a huge favor and get them for me?" she requested. "Um, sure Izumi. What you need?" I answered with a smile. "Thanks a bunch, Emma. Here, it's a list of what I need." she handed me a piece of paper. "And Emma? Don't read it until you get into town. It's private. Girl stuff." she explained. "You got it." I said. "Thanks again. Later Emma." she turned and left.

(7:23 Town Square)

_Hi_

_Alright, I'm in town. Now what's in this letter that's so important?_ "Blaze?" I heard someone from behind call my name. I turned around. "Emma? What are you doing here?" I inquired. "I'm running some errands for Izumi. Why are _you_ here?" she asked. "Keith wanted Matt to get some stuff for him but, he was busy so he came to me." I explained. "Oh," she responded. We stood there for a moment. "Why would the SSG trust Matt with _anything_? Keith's always so uptight." she thought out loud. _She's right…Wait a second!_

I opened the note and began reading silently:

_Hey guys, you've probably figured out by now that we didn't really need any 'errands' ran. Ha ha. We (Izumi and I) set you up on a date. There's money in Emma's note so you can blow it anyway you want. Take her some place nice. A movie, dinner… anywhere. You two dullards need it. Anyway, have fun you guys._

_Sincerely, _

_Matt and Izumi (Cupid)_

"So, what's it say? I still have trouble reading some _kanji_. I can make out Matt and Izumi's names but, that's about it." inquired Emma. I read it to her. "They set us up on a d-date?" she repeated face flushed. "Yeah," I simply replied.

"So…where do you want to go? I hear that _Sai's Sushi_ is pretty good." I suggested trying to kick things off. "That sounds nice but, what about your little sister, Yuki? Aren't you worried she might get lonely?" she wondered. "She'll be fine. I stayed in the cabin for about ten minutes to tuck her in so she wouldn't get scared. You know how little kids can get when they're all alone." I said recalling the first night Yuki and I spent together after we became orphans. "No, I don't." she sighed. "Oh, right, sorry." I apologized. _That's right, she's always been alone._ "But, I'd love to go with you." she said changing the subject. "OK. Hey, how much did they give us?" I asked referring to the money in her note. She checked. "2,690 yen." replied Emma. _(A/N: That's roughly $30.)_

(8:00 P.M. Sai's Sushi)

_"Itadakimasu!"_ went Emma and I in sync as we pulled apart our chopsticks. We'd ordered the ramen and fish, with a side of white rice. The place was nice. Not exactly fancy but, it still had a warm atmosphere. Our table was lit by two candles. "It's good," commented Emma. "Yeah," I agreed. "So what you want to do after this?" she asked as we ate. "Don't know. How 'bout a movie?" I suggested. "Sure," replied Emma with a warm smile.

At 8:30 we went to see a movie. Some action/romance film. It was about a planet which had died so it's inhabitants fled to find a new home. After years of searching they finally find one, a planet capable of supporting life. But, it's inhabited by a tribal race. With no fuel left and little supplies they are forced to invade the planet. A war ensues between the two races. The main character's KLF crashes and he blacks out. When he comes to he's laying in a bed. He was rescued by a female from the other race. Eventually the two fall in love but, the war threatens to tear them apart. The two decide to put an end to the fighting once and for all. Riding together in a stolen prototype KLF, they go up against their own kind. A miracle happens which brings their two races together. Eventually, a peace treaty is signed and the war ends. As the movie ends it shows the two races helping each other to rebuild their world. And it also shows the couple living in a simple hut and the girl clearly pregnant with his child.

As the credits rolled I turned to Emma. She was smiling. "Maybe…maybe there's hope for us yet." I heard her whisper. "What?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, it's nothing." she replied still smiling.

"What's next?" asked Emma as we left the theater with our arms interlocked. _Hmm… _"I think I know a place." I told her. "Where?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Follow me." I instructed taking hold of her hand.

(9:46 P.M.)

"Where are we going?" she asked. I had my hands over her eyes. "Be patient, we're almost there." I answered as I led her.

"Alright you can open your eyes." I removed my hands and she opened her eyes. I had taken her a hill overlooking the city, _Hillside Hope Park._

"It's beautiful." commented Emma. "This was my favorite spot when I lived here. Lillian and I used to come here all the time." I stated. "Lillian?" she inquired. "She was a girl I knew. But, she died." I explained. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you two close?" she asked. "Yeah, she...she was the first girl I ever loved." I admitted. "I'm sorry." she apologized again. "Thanks," I said. "Blaze, if you don't mind me asking, who was the second?" she wondered blushing a bit. "You," I replied gazing into her eyes. "Thanks, Blaze." she smiled. The engraved full moon lit up the night sky as we stood there, watching the city lights.

On our way back we stopped by a department store where I decided to buy her a bottle of lavender perfume, a gift to commemorate our first date, which Emma happily accepted. It was about 10:09 P.M. when we returned to base. I walked her back to her quarters. "I had good time." she told me. "Me too." I smiled. "Blaze, could you close your eyes for me?" she requested. "Um...okay" I closed my eyes. I had a feeling I knew what was coming next. All of a sudden I felt a pair of lips, Emma's, touch my check. I opened my eyes. "Thanks for a great night, Blaze. See you tomorrow." she said with a smile. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow too." I said touching where she kissed me.

In that moment, as she closed the door, I swore an oath to myself, I_ lost everyone precious to me once, I'm not about to let that happen again, not without a fight. I will protect you at all costs._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Older I Get**

_One month later..._

I awoke early that morning even though I had the day off and looked at the calendar. Today's date happened to be very special; it was Yuki's 5th birthday. I glanced over at her. _Still asleep. _I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Happy birthday," I whispered in her ear. She stirred and wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Good morning, _onii-san._" she yawned. "You want me to make you anything special for breakfast?" I asked her. "Cake," she replied hopeful. "No, you can't have cake yet, silly." I told her. "Ice cream?" she wondered. I sighed. "Tell you what, I'll let you have a small bowl of ice cream _after _you eat your breakfast, okay? How do pancakes sound?" I asked. "Yummy," she responded.

"So, what do you want for your birthday this year, Yuki?" I asked her. "Anything will be fine as long as it's from you, _onii-san_." she said. "Oh come on, there must be something." I pressed. "Well, there is one thing I want." she told me. "Really? What is it?" I inquired. "I miss mama and papa, can you bring them back?" she wondered innocently. Tears filled my eyes. "No Yuki, I can't bring back mama and papa. I wish I could but, I'm not a god." I cried. "Don't cry, _onii-san_! If you start crying then it'll make me cry too!" she told me. "Sorry Yuki, it's just...I miss them too." I explained as I wiped away my tears. "Hey, how about I get you a new stuffed toy? Would you like that?" I suggested. "Uh-huh." she nodded. "Alright then, I'm going to head out for a bit to buy your present. I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" I assured as I put on my coat.

As I left I called Emma on my cell phone. _"Hello?" _she answered. "Hey Emma, are you free right now?" I asked. _"Yeah, why, what's up?" _she asked. "Today's Yuki's birthday and I was wondering if you could help me pick out a gift for her." I requested. _"I'd love to. But, I'm not sure how much help I can be since…" _she began. "Don't talk like that, Emma. Look, just meet me in town, you'll be fine." I assured her. _"OK, Blaze." _she agreed. "See you later then?" I inquired. _"Yeah, see you in a bit." _she replied. I hung up.

_15 Minutes Later, __Town Square__…_

"Let's see, which one of these would be cute?" I pondered as I browsed the toy store display window. "Is that Blaze and Emma?" I heard a voice ask. "It is them!" said another voice. We turned around. "Matt? Izumi? What are you doing here?" I asked them. "I had some stuff I needed to get and I asked Izumi if she wanted to come along." stated Matt. "So, you're on a date then?" wondered Emma. "No-nothing like that!" went Matt and Izumi in sync.I responded with a long, drawn out, "_Sure._" Their faces turned red.

"So what are you two doing at a toy store?" wondered Matt. "Today's his little sister's birthday so I'm helping him look for a present." stated Emma. "Oh! Today's Yuki's birthday?" went Izumi enthusiastically. I nodded. Matt or Emma must've mentioned her. "Hey, would guys like to come over to help her celebrate?" I inquired. "Sure, we'd love to." responded Izumi. Matt nodded in agreement. "Thanks guys, it'll mean a lot to her." I told them.

_Later that evening..._

"Happy birthday, Yuki!" we wished my sister enthusiastically as she opened the door. The little girl's eyes lit up. "You're all here...for me?" she gazed at my friends. "That's right, Yuki." I nodded as we entered. "Who's she?" Yuki pointed to Izumi. Izumi kneeled down to her level. "My name's Izumi. It's nice to meet you, snowflake." she said in a friendly tone. "Mama and papa used to call me that!" Yuki gasped. "Really?" went Izumi. Yuki turned to me. "I like her, she called me snowflake!" she grinned. I smiled.

With all of us gathered for my little sister's fifth birthday my dorm room had become rather crowded. I placed the presents from Emma, Matt, Izumi, and I in the bedroom then went into the kitchen to get the cake. Emma followed me. "So, this is what it's like to celebrate one's birth?" she said to me once we were out of earshot. "Yeah," I nodded. I noticed something was bothering her by the look she wore. "What's wrong?" I wondered. "What if she doesn't like my gift?" she worried. "Huh? That's what's bothering you?" I asked. She looked away. "Don't worry, she'll love it." I reassured her. "You...really think so?" she questioned. "I know so." I stated, smiling. "Thanks, Blaze." she smiled back and kissed my cheek. "OK everyone, take your seats, I'm about to bring in the cake." I yelled out to our guests.

Matt and Izumi took a pair of chairs while Emma and Yuki sat on the couch as I brought in the cake. I set the cake down and lit the candles. Then, all of us began singing, "Happy Birthday," to my little sister. Yuki blushed as we sang. When we finished I told her to make a wish and blow out the candles. She closed her eyes, leaned in, and blew out the five candles. We applauded.

As Yuki and our guests ate I went into our bedroom to retrieve the gifts. "Happy birthday, Yuki." I said returning with them. "Presents!" cheered Yuki. "This is from Matt and Izumi." I told her as I handed her the gift. She ripped off the wrapping paper. "Yay, a new dress! Thanks Izumi and Matt." she told them. "You're welcome, birthday girl." responded Matt.

"Here Yuki, this is from me. I hope you like it." Emma handed the present to the smiling toddler. Yuki ripped up the paper. When enough paper had been removed I saw her smile ear-to-ear. "It's a faerie doll! Thanks Emma, I love it!" she immediately took it out of the box and gave it a big hug. "Y-you're welcome." went my girlfriend. I think I actually saw a tear roll down Emma's cheek. _See, I told you so._ "Now you have someone to play with when I'm not home." I told my softly. Yuki smiled and snuggled the stuffed animal. "I'm going to name her Olive." she stated. "Why Olive?" inquired Emma. "Olives are her favorite flower. They symbolize peace." I explained.

_A little while later..._

"Thanks for coming over guys." I told my friends as they prepared to leave. "No problem." went Matt. "Hey, if you ever need a babysitter let me know, I'll be glad to watch her." stated Izumi. "Thanks, Izumi." I told her as she and Matt left. Emma approached me. "Good night, Blaze." she said and kissed my lips before leaving. "Good night." I told her and closed the door.

I walked over to the happy little girl. "Did you have fun?" I asked her. Yuki simply grinned. "There's one more present." I informed her. "Really?" she remarked. "This is from me." I put the gift in front of her. It was a small rectangular box wrapped in a simple green paper.

"It's something that's very special to me. I want you to use it only in case of an emergency." I explained as she unwrapped the gift. She opened the box and stared at the gift with a confused look. "What's this?" she asked. "It's a Compac Drive." I replied. Yuki studied it. "I think something's wrong with it." she informed me. "What do you mean?" I inquired. She handed it to me. "There's some weird word on it." she stated as I examined the Compac. My eyes widened once I read it.

**Z I T A**

"Yuki, I need you to promise me something." I said. "What, Hi?" she inquired. "You can't tell anyone about this." I told her in a gentle but, firm tone. "About what my Compac Drive says?" she questioned. "Yes, and don't show it to anyone either." I added. "But, why not, _onii-san_?" she wondered. "Yuki, please." I requested. "OK Hi, I promise." she agreed. "Thanks, Yuki." I said and handed the Compac back her. "Z, I, T, A. Zita." she read it out loud. "What's a Zita?" she pondered. "I...don't know." I lied. I felt a knot in my stomach when I did. I hated lying to her. _Gomenasai, Yuki but, it's probably best you don't know._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Headstrong**

_Two weeks later..._

I threw my dulled combat knife down causing it to stick in the earth. "Argh! This is pointless!" I shouted irritated. "We've been training for months. When are we gonna see some action?!" I groaned. "Blaze! You find my training pointless, do you?" barked Keith. "With all due respect sir, I think we've trained enough, sir." I boldly objected. "Prove it." he said. "Sir?" I questioned. He picked up another dulled blade. "Prove it. I want you to take me on. Pick up your knife." he told me. "Sir?" I repeated stunned. "That was a direct order!" he barked. I did as he ordered and retrieved my blade. "Just so you know, I'm not going easy on you." he stated. I nodded. "Alright, come at me with all you got." he ordered.

I rushed him. "Too slow." he said easily evading my attack and countering it. He flipped me on my back. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt." I heard Matt say. I groaned as I picked myself up. I looked at the grinning SSG. _Man, I can't wait to wipe that smirk off your face_. I tasted blood in my spittle. I must've bit my tongue when he flipped me. I spat it out and wiped my mouth. "Want to continue?" he laughed. "Yes, sir." I answered. He stopped laughing. "Very well then." he simply said.

"You can do it, Blaze!" I heard Emma cheer. Keith came at me. I dodged him, _Emma's right._ I evaded another attack. _I can do this_. And another. _All I need…_ I sidestepped left as the knife closed in, barely missing my side. _Is just one opening_. The burly man lunged again. _There!_ With cat-like reflexes I spun around him. I kneeled and brought him down hard with a low roundhouse-kick to the back of his heels. Then I quickly pinned him before he could recover by bringing my knife to his jugular. The man looked at me, clearly horrified. "Want to continue…sir?" I huffed repeating his own words. SSG Keith chuckled. "I yield." he shook his head smiling.

The next day Matt, Emma, and I were summoned to the Commandant's office. We knocked on the door. "Enter," came a voice from behind the door. We opened the door and entered. A decorated man sat behind a desk. He had scar over his one of his eyes. "Privates Blaze Hamilton, Matt Soma, and Emma Datura reporting, sir." I announced as we saluted him. He looked up. "At ease." he told us. "Do you know why I summoned you?" he asked us. "Sir, if this is about the fight yesterday I..." I began apologizing. "Your SSG came to me. He told that I should have you and your teammates transferred." he said.

He turned around, placed his hands behind his back, and looked out his window. "Now I've known Keith for 20 years and he's never been one to make rash decisions." he said. "Sir?" I said. "He recommended you three graduate early from this academy and be transferred to our military's elite squadron at Controrado Base." he informed us. "Sir?" I repeated awestruck.

He turned around to face us. "Congratulations, as of today you are graduates of this academy. Also, Blaze, I'm promoting you to Sergeant First Class. Privates Matt and Emma, I'm promoting you to Corporals. " he informed us. "Th-thank you, sir!" I stuttered.

"Permission to speak, sir." went Matt. The officer raised an eyebrow. "Granted." said the commandant. "I'd like to request that Private Izumi Curtis be transferred along with us." he boldly asked. Emma and I stared at him. The commandant chuckled. "You got guts kid, I like that. Very well, corporal, I'll have her transferred with you." he replied. "Thank you, sir." said Matt. "Dismissed." he stated. "Sir!" we saluted him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8  
**

**Frontline**

_(8:46 A.M. Controrado Base)_

Yuki held my hand as we entered the base. Matt, Izumi, and Emma followed close behind me. "Here we are Yuki, our new home." I told her. A man with dirty-blond hair approached us. I noticed a scar across his face. "Welcome to Controrado Base." he greeted us. "Sergeant First Class Blaze Hamilton reporting for duty, sir!" I saluted him. "Corporals Matt Soma and Emma Datura reporting, sir!" they saluted him. "Private First Class Izumi Curtis reporting, sir!" she saluted. "At ease, I'm not like other officers. Here I treat everyone as equals. I'm Commander Todd Novak of Omega Team, your squadron leader. Pleased to me you, kids." he offered his hand. I shook it. _Novak? Wait, I think I've heard that name before but, where? _"Follow me, I'll introduce you to the rest of your team." he instructed.

We followed him to a large hanger housing a state-of-the-art ship where he introduced to a rowdy group of soldiers. "That's our ship's pilot, Fredrick Emerson." he pointed to young man with dyed green hair and grey-blue eyes. "Yo," went Fredrick. "Over there is Alice. She's in charge of communications." he stated pointing to a girl with a red and blue flower bud tattoo on her forehead. "Konichawa," she bowed. She appeared to be of Vodarac decent. "Lloyd, our weapons expert." said Todd pointing to a man with a beard. He simply grunted. "Jacobs, navigation." said a friendly looking man. "That's Hax, radar, and Cipher, our engineer. Don't ask their real names." he pointed to a short man holding a Compac Drive and a tall man with golden shades.

"I'm the ship's doctor, Rin Egan." stated a young teenage girl with light red hair. "You're a doctor? Aren't you a little young?" remarked Matt. "Fine, then don't come to me when you're on the brink of death. Hmph!" she turned and stormed off. "Don't judge a book by it's cover. Rin's one of our military's best doctors. She graduated medical school when she was only 14. She's the definition of a child prodigy." Todd told Matt. "Over there are the twins, Rob and Kelly. Rob pilots the Guardian typeX606 while his sister pilots the typeX808." he pointed to pair dark-skinned teenagers with headphones in their ears. "The guy with the camera is Che, he's a photojournalist." the commander pointed to a scruffy looking man with a jaw stubble. _Novak, Emerson, Egan. I've heard these names before._

_(A/N: All of these characters, with the exception of Alice, are descendants of GekkoState. Todd is a descendant of Holland and Talho. Fredrick is a descendant of James "Moondoogie" and Gidget. The twins are descendants of Matthieu and Hilda. Hax is Woz's descendant while Cipher is Jobs'. Jacobs is Hap's. Lloyd is Ken-Goh's. Rin is Misha and Greg's descendant. Lastly, Che is Stoner's descendant. Looks like everyone's together again, huh?)_

"Hey Todd, who's are the new guys?" came a voice from behind. It sounded familiar. I turned around my eyes widened. I found myself face-to-face with one of my childhood friends. "Oh, and this is TheBELLONA's ace pilot, Dahlia Sorel." he stated. Dahlia turned pale. "What's wrong, Dahlia? You look like you just saw a ghost." went Todd. She opened her mouth to speak. "I'm Blaze Hamilton and this is my little sister, Yuki. Pleased to meet you, Dahlia." I quickly said and offered my hand "Err…yeah, likewise." she stammered and shook it.

_(A/N: Dahlia is of course Anemone and Dominic's decedent. TheBELLONA's design is somewhat based off TheEND. Bellona was an Ancient Roman war goddess.)_

Matt could see that I must've known her so he suggested to Izumi that they check out their new quarters. After they left I turned to Todd. "Commander, would it be alright for her to show us the ropes. Maybe give us a tour of the base." I suggested. "That's a good idea. Whaddya say, Dahlia?" he asked her. "Um…sure." she agreed. "Then I'll leave them to you." said Todd and he walked off.

"Hi? Hi Thurston?" went Dahlia once we alone. I nodded. "Dahlia!" went Yuki leaping into her old friend's arms. "It is you! My god, I thought you were dead!" she cried hugging Yuki and I back. "This is bad, she knows who you are." Emma whispered in my ear. I shook my head. "We'll be fine." I assured her. "Dahlia is a childhood friend. We've know each other since we were babies." I explained.

I turned to my old friend with a stern look upon my face. "Dahlia, I need you to keep our identities a secret. You can't let anyone know who we are." I instructed. "Why?" she demanded. "Because, technically I'm not old enough to join the IEF." I informed her. "So, you chose to enlist under Lillian's last name?" she asked. I nodded. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut." she agreed.

"By the way, this is Emma." I introduced her. Emma looked uneasy as she held out her hand. "Emma Datura. Nice to meet you, Ms. Sorel." she said. "Just Dahlia, hun. I hate formalities." she insisted smiling as she shook her hand. "So, your last name's Datura, huh? I guess we have something in common then?" she mused. "What do you mean?" wondered Emma. "We're both named after flowers silly!" she laughed. "Really?" went Emma. "You mean you didn't know?" remarked Dahlia sounding stunned. Emma shook her head.

"Do you know the meaning behind a Datura?" asked my old friend. "Dahlia, don't." I mumbled. I knew the meaning. Emma shook her head again. "Disguise." she stated. Emma's eyes widened in horror. "That's enough, Dahlia!" I snapped. Dahlia stared at me. So did Yuki and Emma. _What's wrong with me?_ "Sorry, did I say something I shouldn't have?" she wondered. "No, it's just…" I stammered. "Just what, Hi? Jeez, I was only having a little fun with her." she listened raising an eyebrow. "Nothing." I muttered. She continued to study me. "Anyway, I suppose I should give you that tour of the base, huh? Follow me." she shrugged.

Yuki tugged on my shirt. "What's wrong, Hi?" she asked in a concerned tone. "It's nothing." I assured the little girl. She didn't look convinced. "Really?" she pressed. "Yeah, really. I'm fine, Yuki." I nodded. She frowned, disappointed. She could probably tell I was lying. After all, Yuki knew me better than anyone. I faked a smile. "If you say so,_ onii-san_." she replied.

As we followed Dahlia, I noticed Emma kept staring at me. It was unbearable. "What?" I finally asked. "It's just a name." she simply said. "I know but, it felt like Dahlia was trying to insult you and...aw hell, I don't know. Something just came over me." I explained scratching my head. "Hi, I understand, or at least I think I understand. You felt like you needed to protect me, right?" she whispered. All I could manage was a nod. She smiled. "I appreciate it, I really do but, I think you should apologize to her. She's your friend, you said so yourself." she requested. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I sighed.

"Hey Dahlia?" I called to her. "Hmm?" she went without looking back. "Sorry, for snapping at you." I apologized. "Can, I ask you something?" she wondered. "Um…sure." I replied. She turned around to face us. "Is she your new girlfriend?" she inquired. Emma and I blushed. "Uh-huh, that's right." went little Yuki. "Y-Yuki!" I stuttered. A wily grin formed on Dahlia's face. "Well, that certainly explains a lot." she remarked. "What's that supposed to mean?" I/Emma demanded in sync. "I think you just answered your own question." she grinned. Now our shared blush turned crimson. "By the way Emma, I want you to know that if I somehow offended you then I'm sorry." she apologized with a bow.  
_  
A little while later…_

Our accommodations were certainly better than our old dorm. The food, equipment, training, and my personal favorite, pay would probably be better too. "Well, it's not exactly first class, but it beats the training camp." Matt said setting down his suitcase. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "We're supposed to be sharing the room." he stated. "Oh no, we're not. Not while Yuki's here, get out." I picked up his suitcase, gave it to him, then shoved him out the door and closed it. "Aw, come on man. I thought we were friends." he protested from behind the door. "We are but, I'm not having another male share the same room as my kid sister. Find someplace else." I told him. "Fine then, jeez." he grunted and kicked the door before storming off. I looked around at our new home. _Two beds, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Not too bad.  
_

_Meanwhile…_

_Emma_

"Wow this is nice, a lot nicer then that rat hole I used to live in." I set my things down by a bunk bed. "Yeah, not too shabby." agreed Izumi. There was one other girl in the room who soon greeted us. "Hey, you must be Emma and Izumi. My name's Kelly, we met earlier." she held out her hand. Izumi shook her hand first. "Pleased to meet you. You're one of the twins, right?" I recalled. "Yeah, the smarter one. Make yourselves at home." said Kelly with a smile.

_(The next day, 0907 hours, Briefing room 17)_

_Hi_

Kelly was sitting on a desk, Rob was standing, while the rest of us were sitting at our small desks. "So, I heard you pilot the GD X606 and GD X808." I said attempting make conversation. "Yeah, that's right and Todd over there pilots GD X909, the lucky bastard." Rob informed us. "What do you ride?" inquired Kelly. "My LFO's custom built, inspired by the Nirvash." I lied. "Cool." remarked her twin. We began introducing ourselves until the door opened and walked in Scott, our Colonel.

We all took our seats and waited patiently for our mission. I looked over at Emma and Matt and saw excitement in there faces. "First things first, welcome new pilots of Team Omega. Alright now here's your mission." the lights dimmed and the holographic screen lit. "Kalzas City has requested us to provide protection for a certain Vodarac cargo ship en route to the Tresoir Laboratory." he started. "Our first mission is babysitting?" Matt said clutching his fist. "That a problem, Corporal?" went Scott. "No, sir." he sighed. The Colonel continued.

"First, you will rendezvous with Alpha and Beta squads in Kalzas City. From there you will escort that cargo to Tresoir." he ordered. "Why all the extra security, what's so important about this cargo?" inquired Todd. "I'm not at liberty to say." responded Scott. "So in other words, this mission is top secret?" remarked Jacobs. "Should you encounter any Image you are to fend them off. Protection of that ship is top priority, Image are second. Never forget, that as members of Team Omega you are our first and last line of defense. Guard that ship as if your very lives depended in it. You leave tomorrow at 0900 hours, dismissed." stated the man.

I looked over at Emma and Matt again to see their excitement drained and worried expressions replacing it. So I knew that both Emma and Matt were scared. I was scared myself too. "We'll be fine, right guys?" I turned to them. "Y-Yeah," went a nervous Emma. "Rob, since Matt doesn't have an LFO I want you to take him to the base's hanger. Let him get anyone he wants." said the commander. "Yes sir." was the Private's response.

_(8:56 P.M. hanger)_

_(Matt)_

Rob took me to the hanger as ordered. As we walk in to the opening hanger I saw a large room with dozens of columns with two types of LFOs on each side. "Wow, I wonder which one I should get." I was so excited I couldn't think. "Here's some advice." I turned to look at Rob to see what he had to say. "Choose the one that speaks to your heart." he said. _What's that suppose to mean?_ I stared at him for a moment with a confused expression. I gazed around the hanger and saw Gauntlets (Spearhead successor), Strikers (Mon-Soono successor), Heavyarms (VC10 successor), Guardians (Terminus successor), and even Reapers (Wyvern successor), which by the way only a suicidal idiot would pilot. But none of them felt like they were speaking to my heart.

Just then I saw some thing out of the corner of my eye. I walked to the mech and gazed up at it. Covered by what looked like a tarp was an old Guardian typeA505. "Hey Rob," I called to him. He walked over to see what I found. "I'll take it." I said in a positive voice. "Well I'll get the paperwork." he said. "Paperwork? For what?" I asked. "Well if you want it you have to sign some papers that say it belongs to you." he informed. I looked at the mech again. "Makes sense," I responded.

_(The next day, 9:15 A.M. hanger)_

_(Hi)_  
I was loading my ammo in to the Nirvash's rifle when Yuki waddled over to me holding the doll that Emma gave her. "Big brother, where are you going?" she asked. "I'm going on a mission." I said kneeling down to eye level with her. Her face went from curious to sad. "You're leaving me?" she worried. "No, of course not, I'll be back before you know it." I assured. "You aren't going to leave like mama and papa did, are you?" she asked again. Tears filled my eyes as I wrapped my arms around her. "No Yuki, I'll never die and leave you. I'll make it back, I promise." I swore to her. A relieved smile formed on her face.

"Who's the squirt?" came a voice from behind. I turned to see the Commander and Jacobs. "This is my little sister, Yuki. You met her when we arrived, remember?" I answered. "Oh yeah, that's right. Hi there, Yuki-_chan_." Todd said to her. Yuki just backed behind me scared. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. In fact, I had a little sister about your age." he said attempting to coax her out. "Had? Where is she now?" she asked looking up at him. His friendly demeanor disappeared. "C'mon, Blaze let's go." he growled and left.

Jacobs sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't take it personal, kid. Image killed his sister." he explained. "You see that scar across his face? He got that when the Image attacked our home town. Took out fifteen of them on his own." he stated. "Wow," I stared at the commander with newfound respect. He looked over at me. "What's the hold up, rookie?" he yelled. "Right, sorry, commander." I answered. I turned to Yuki. "I have to go now, Yuki. Why don't you go back to the dorm and wait for Izumi to pick you up." I said sweetly. "OK, big brother." she nodded and ran off.

I boarded the XL-1600 Mk-IV military ship, _Eclipse_, and waited patiently for the rest of my team in the hanger. _(The Eclipse resembles the Moonlight/Gekko. It's basically a better version of the SL-1200 Mk-II)_ I looked over at Emma, she had her hand on her Flestnia X. _What's she doing?_ I gazed up at Nirvash and touched her. "This is it, Nirvash, our first mission. You ready?" I said to the mech. "Hey guys sorry to keep you waiting." came the voice of Matt on the radio as he and Rob parked their KLFs. "Were the hell have you two been?" scolded Kelly. "Sorry, I took him to the shop so he could get a Rail gun." explained Rob.

_The bridge…_

Todd Novak sat in his command chair. "I want a status report before we launch." he barked. "Jacobs, how are our trapar values?" he asked. "Readings are good." reported Jacobs. "Cipher, how are our engines?" he radioed. "Reactors are stable." reported Cipher. "Hax, anything on radar?" he asked. "The skies are clear." answered Hax. "Lloyd, what about our weapons?" he asked next. Lloyd gave him a thumbs up. "Kelly, Rob, our KLFs secure?" he radioed the hanger. "Yes, sir." reported Rob. "Alice, anything from the tower?" he asked. "We're good to go anytime." she stated. "Good." he said.

Just then Todd's voice came on the loudspeaker. "Our mission is simple, protect the cargo ship. Should we encounter any Image I want you to remember, don't be a hero. We are brothers and sisters in arms now...comrades...a team. And as members of Team Omega, I require one thing of all of you: Don't die. That is all. Raise the catapult." he ordered.

The catapult raised. "Fredrick, take us up." he ordered. "Yes, sir." responded the helm's pilot. The boosters roared, the sound was nearly deafening. "Higher than the sun!" yelled Eclipse's crew, as it was their custom. And the XL-1600 Mk-IV lifted off.

_45 Minutes later, the ley-line over Kalzas City...  
Eclipse's Hanger...  
_

_(Hi)_

Emma was trembling. "You nervous?" Dahlia asked her new comrade. "Is it that obvious?" she asked. Dahlia gave her a comforting smile. "You'll do fine, hun." she assured her. I placed a hand on Emma's shoulder and her trembling stopped. She gazed into my eyes. "Don't worry, Nir–_Vendetta_ and I will protect you." I stated. "TheBELLONA, too." added Dahlia. "Thank you." she told us. Matt looked over at us from inside his LFO's cockpit.

_(Matt)_

I looked at the photograph Izumi had given me before I left. It was a picture of her. _"Good luck,"_ was written in the upper left corner the photo. In the bottom right corner was a small heart with a XO _(kisses and hugs_) along with _~Iz,_ her nickname. I tucked the photo in my mech's control panel. "Wait for me, Izumi. I'll come back to you, I swear." I vowed silently to myself.

_The bridge...  
_

_(Todd)_

_*Beep, beep, beep*_ "Sir! We have an incoming transmission!" reported Alice from her station. "Patch it through." I ordered. "This is the leader of Team Omega. To whom am I speaking?" I said into the headset. "This is Obito, Alpha Team." said a voice. "And Kakashi, Beta Team." said another voice. "The Image have appeared over Kalzas City! We are under attack! Repeat, we are under attack!" reported Obito. "We've lost two thirds of our forces. We're being overrun!" went Kakashi. "What the? They're attacking the Vodarac ship?" reported Obito's voice. "Can you assist, Omega?" asked Kakashi. A wily grin formed across my lips. "That's why we're here." I told Alpha and Beta before switching off the intercom. "Lloyd, prep the ship for combat." I told the weapons' master. "Aye, sir." he grunted. "Fredrick, take us down. We're going in..._hard_." I barked. "You got it, boss man." he responded. "All hands, prepare for battle!" I yelled into the loudspeaker.

_Hanger..._

_Hi_

The catapult lowered. I sat in the Nirvash, awaiting my orders. My breathing was heavy and my heart was pounding, tension gripped me. I was half excited, half terrified. "It'll be okay. If I do it like I did in the simulations, it'll be okay." I told myself. Todd's voice came over the loudspeaker. "The Image can only last for 1246 seconds. You need to last longer." he ordered his crew. "1246 seconds, that's all I need to last. I can do this. I did fine in the battle simulations, didn't I?" I told myself. I could the red Image sphere hovering above the city of Kalzas. "They're the enemy of the planet, my enemy. Mindless beasts, nothing like Emma. They're the Image." I told myself. "Vendetta, you're ready for sortie." Alice radioed me. I looked ahead. "This is Sergeant First Class, Blaze Hamilton. Vendetta, heading out." I said. Nirvash speed off the launch circuit and deployed her board. This was it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**You're Gonna Go Far Kid**

I was in the air for no more than a minute when I encountered my first foe. It was humongous. The squid glared at me with it's red eye, almost as if it was boring into my very soul. I froze up. "What the hell are you doing, Blaze?" radioed Dahlia. She quickly took down the Image in front of me with TheBELLONA's chest lasers. "Sorry," I apologized.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a family fleeing from an Image. My mind flashed back to a year ago, in that second I saw the family as my own. Without realizing it, I started barreling towards them. I wasn't about to let the same fate befall them. I took out my boomerang knife and plowed into the Image just as it's beastly jaws opened. Then I split it apart like it was nothing. Blood sprayed. "Hurry, there's a high speed craft about 6 kilometers to the north." I told the family. "Th-thank you." they told me before running off.

Todd radioed me. "Rookie, what are you doing?" he asked in a cold tone. "I was just…" I began. "We can't save everyone. Our mission is to protect that ship." he stated. "But…" I started to protest. "I could have you court-martialed for disobeying orders." he warned. Then, I saw a grin form on his face. "But thankfully, I'm not that type of guy. Good job." he smiled at me. "Thank you, commander." I told him as I hurried back to cargo ship.

"Is it just me or do these _bakemono_ seem to be concentrating their attacks on that Vodarac vessel?" radioed Kelly. "No, I think you're right, sis." agreed Rob. The Image kept on pounding it as it attempted to leave the airport. _Just what the hell is in that ship? _To my left another foe appeared. I quickly shot it with my rifle before it had a chance to do anything. It exploded into a cloud of dust. Matt did the same with the ones on his six and ten.

Suddenly, all at once, every Image ceased attacking. "Did...did we win?" wondered Matt. My gut told me it wasn't that simple. The next thing I knew they started doing something. They began fusing together. "No, I don't think so." I told him.

Todd quickly took action. "Shit! It's the Ecstasy Phenomenon. I'm heading out in the 909. Jacobs, you're in charge while I'm gone." stated the commander. "Roger." responded his friend. He sprinted to the hanger, jumped in his mech, and launched.

"What the hell is that thing?!" yelled Emma as the beast continued to grow. Then all hell broke loose as a combination of wide-range Dimensional Bursts and Hikari Spears came forth the monster. All we could do was watch as it began to massacre everything in sight. A feeling of helplessness began to overwhelm me. One of it's beams struck the left leg of Matt's 505. "MATT!" I screamed. "I'm fine. My board's been hit though. Sorry, buddy." he radioed. I breathed a sigh of relief. "You did good, fall back to the Eclipse for repairs." I ordered. "Roger." he responded and did so.

_(A/N: The Dimensional Burst is the name I'm giving that time-space rupture attack the Anti-body Coralians used in the anime. It left nothing but an orb shape behind. The Hikari or Light Spears are exactly as their name suggests. They're the beams of light the Anti-body Coralians used to take down airships. Remember them?)_

_*Phew!* _A laser attack from the Eclipse struck the fused monster. "Don't just stand there, take that thing down!" came Todd's voice. The 909 had entered the battlefield. It immediately began a barrage of attacks on our new foe. "R-Roger." responded everyone, except for Emma. "Emma, what's wrong?" I radioed her.

_Zita_

It was happening again, another violent migraine. My head felt like it was going to explode. _No, not now. _"N-nothing, I'm fine." I responded as I fought off the attack. _(A/N: I'm referring to her headache, not the Image btw.)_ "Don't scare me like that." said Hi. "Sorry," I apologized. I couldn't let him know about my attack, he'd just worry. We had to focus on the mission.

_Hi_

Another beam hit the pod launchers of a Striker belonging to Frazier, one of Alpha's squad members. "Emma go down and help him." I ordered. "Roger." was her only response. _"Aim for the tentacles." _said an unknown voice. I didn't know where it came from but, something told me to trust the voice. "The tentacles, aim for the tentacles! They're it's weak spot!" I radioed everyone. "What? And just how do you know that?" demanded Todd. "Just trust me." I responded. "Alright, you heard the rook. Everyone with me, our objective, the tentacles." he ordered us. "Roger!" went everyone as we sped towards the giant monster with our boomerangs ready.

We slowly closed in on the monstrous beast. "Now!" I shouted. The beast screamed as we severed it's limbs, two each. As the last one was cut off the giant beast fell to the ground with a loud _boom_. _"The eye." _said the mysterious voice."Everyone aim for the eye." I said. Once again we fired our guns, missiles, and pods at the beast as it squirmed, finishing the job. After letting out one final cry, it fell silent.

The rest of the Image suddenly began to turn to clay as the red sphere disappeared. The 1246 seconds had passed, it was over. "We won," I realized. "Hell yeah!" exclaimed the twins. I began radioing the others. I had to know if my comrades were alright. "Can anyone hear me? I repeat, can anyone hear me?" I waited for a few seconds. Then someone answered on the other side. "This is Tara, Alpha Team." a female voice replied. "Tara, how's your squad?" I asked. "My squad leader, Obito, is down but, not dead." she reported. "And the others, what about them?" I inquired. "The other leaders are on the ground checking for survivors." she reported.

"This is Kakashi, we've suffered many loses altogether. About three-fifths are still alive." he reported. I felt sick to my stomach, all those lives extinguished. Todd radioed me. "Rookie, look down." he told me. I did so and my eyes widened. The entire city was cheering for us. "So, how does it feel?" Dahlia asked with a smirk. My sorrow began to fade away, replacing it with joy. "It feels good." I told them. "We can't speak for the rest of IEF but, to us in Omega, this is what's all about." added Todd. I looked again at the thousands of lives we saved. "C'mon rook, let's finish our mission." he said.

After the Eclipse retrieved us, Todd radioed Alpha and Beta. "Alpha, Beta, I want you to stay behind." he told them. "The mission was to help you escort that ship all the way to Tresoir." protested Kakashi. "Right now, you need to do what you can for the survivors. There are a lot of people down there who still need your help. Omega can handle it from here." he stated. "Understood." sighed Tara. From that point, the rest of the escort mission went along smoothly.

Forty-five minutes later we arrived at Tresoir and landed along with the Vodarac ship. As the ship started unloading it's cargo I caught sight of a single large crate with **V.E.N.O.M. **stamped across it but, nothing else.

Seeing this Todd stormed over to the nearest technician and grabbed him by his collar. "One crate?! We risked our lives for one lousy, stupid, crate?!" he demanded. "Calm down, sir." went the technician. "Calm down?! My men nearly died out there!" he spat. He was furious. "Not that it's any of your business but, the contents of that one crate could turn the tide of this war. Now release me!" the technician demanded. Todd released him and stared at the crate. So did the rest of us. _Could one crate really turn the tide?_ I found it hard to believe.

The commander approached his crew. "Mission complete, nice job. Now lets go home." he grunted. Everyone let out joyous cry. "Yes, sir!" responded the Eclipse's crew. Only the thought of holding my awaiting baby sister in my arms filled my head.

I decided to pay the ship's doctor a visit as Eclipse made it's way back to Controrado Base. I knocked on the door. "Come in," she said. The door slid open and I entered. The young girl looked up at me from her desk. "Blaze, was it? What can I do for you?" she asked. "Doctor, can I ask you something?" I requested. "Sure," she responded. "Is it common for soldiers to hear voices during battle?" I inquired. "Explain." she said.

"When I was fighting that fused Image it felt like there was this mysterious voice guiding me, telling me it's weak spots." I stated. "Has this ever happened before?" she pressed. "This was my first battle so, no." I admitted. "Well, there have been cases of soldiers making similar claims, it's not uncommon. It was probably just your instincts." she explained. I scratched my head. "Yeah, maybe. Sorry to have bothered you." I said. "Not at all." she assured me. "Thanks, Rin." I said. "That's _Dr. _Egan." she corrected me with a smile.

I opened the door and I found Emma standing there. "Emma/Blaze?" we went surprised to see the other. "What are you doing here?" I asked her. "I just needed to see the doctor. Don't worry, it's nothing." she told me as she looked away. "Did you have another attack? Was it..._them?"_ I whispered so that only she could her. She said nothing. "Wanna talk about it?" I whispered. She stepped inside the room. "Later," she whispered as the door closed behind her. I just stood there for a moment

_Emma_

"My, I seem to be popular today. Your boyfriend was just here." chuckled Rin as I entered her office. I froze. "How did you?" I stuttered. "Oh please, I'm a girl first and a doctor second." she remarked with a smirk. "How can I help you?" she wondered. "Well, my head's been hurting. Do you have anything I could take for it?" I requested. "What type of headache is it? Mild, moderate, or severe?" she inquired. "Migraine." I answered.

"Do you suffer from migraines often?" she asked as she went over to her medicine cabinet. "No," I lied. She handed me a pill bottle. "Here, take two of these and call me in the morning." she said. I stared at her, confused. "It' an old doctor's joke. The directions are on the bottle." she informed me. "Oh. Thanks, Rin." I said as I left. "It's...oh, never mind. Why do I even bother?" she sighed. _"I guess no matter where I go or what I do, I'll always just be, Lil' Rin." _thought the doctor.

_Hi_

Three hours later we were back at Controrado. The ship docked in it's hanger and the catapult lowered. We were greeted by the Coronal, Izumi, and Yuki. "Welcome back," said Scott. "Honey, we're home." responded Todd jokingly. Matt dropped his helmet, ran to Izumi, and embraced her. Meanwhile, Yuki ran towards me. "Onii-san, onii-san," she cried over and over again as she ran. She leapt into my arms and gave me the biggest hug she ever had. "You're back." she cried. "I promised you, didn't I?" I whispered to her.

_Later that night..._

The hanger became loud and rowdy. "What's going on?" I asked Dahlia over the blaring music. Yuki had her ears covered but, there was also a big smile on her face. "Can't you tell? It's a party." she stated. "Is it always like this?" wondered Emma, covering her ears as well. "It's sorta a tradition in Omega to hold a welcoming party for the new guys after their first mission." she informed us. "In other words, you're the guests of honor." stated Todd walking up to us.

He looked around. "Hey, where's that Soma fella? This party was for him too." he inquired. Emma and I said nothing. "He and Miss Izumi ran off somewhere." little Yuki spoke up. The commander threw back his head and laughed. "Is that so? Well, I guess he must be _celebrating_ elsewhere then, huh?" he remarked. "Sir!" I growled, glaring. He stopped laughing and stared at me. I motioned my head at Yuki. "Right, sorry." he apologized. Yuki tugged on my shirt. "What's he mean?" she asked innocently. "I'll tell you when you're older." I replied.

_(A/N: Despite what Todd's and your dirty minds believe, Matt and Izumi aren't doing what you think they are. They're probably on a date or making out. I just thought I should clear that up.)_

"Ally-oop," went Dahlia hoisting Yuki up and placing her atop her shoulders. _Wow, she's gotten stronger. _Yuki giggled. "Here you go, squirt." said Jacobs handing her a juice box.

After about fifteen minutes of eating and drinks, Todd stood up. "I propose a toast." he said raising his glass in the air. He turned to address me. "To Blaze, it may have been your first mission but, thanks to your quick thinking, we were able to take down that big sucker. You have the makings of a great leader. I think, you're gonna go far, kid. To Blaze!" he shouted. "To Blaze!" everyone joined in raising their drinks. Even Yuki raised her juice box.

_The next day..._

"Where were you last night?" I asked Matt with a smirk. "I took Izumi out for dinner, why?" he answered. "They threw us a party. You, me, and Emma were the guests of honor." I informed him. "Really? Damn, I can't believe I missed it." he groaned. "So, what did you two have?" I inquired. "Sushi. Squid and eel to be precise." he replied, smiling. "Blah!" I retorted. "What? I thought you liked sushi?" he questioned. "Let's just say I won't be having seafood for awhile." I mumbled. "Wuss," he jabbed.

_(A/N: Or eating out, whatever works for them. ^_^)_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Perfect Insanity **

_Two months later..._

The missions grew harder as time went by but, the more we did, the closer everyone became. Each mission we completed gained those in Omega more respect weather we were teammates or not. Everywhere I went soldiers saluted us. It felt good. Last month I had Yuki enrolled at the base's school. She needed to go to kindergarten. It was my responsibility as her brother to make sure she received a proper education just like everyone else. It was comforting to see her playing with other kids her age too. I was on my way to pick her up now.

"Hey, Miss Ibuki." I said to her teacher. She smiled. "Yuki-chan, your brother's here to pick you up." she called out. A moment later Yuki came out of the classroom. "Blaze!" she cheered and hugged me. "How was school today?" I asked her. "Good. I had a lot of fun today." she replied. "That's great." I said petting her head. "Yuki's a bright child and she gets along well with others too." Miss Ibuki remarked. "That's good to hear. We'll see you tomorrow. Say goodbye to your teacher, Yuki. " I said. "Goodbye, Ibuki-sensai." Yuki bowed.

As we walked home I noticed she was holding something. "What's that?" I asked her. "A flower. Sousuke gave it to me." she said. Sousuke was one of her classmates. "Sousuke? That little Coralian boy?" I asked. "Uh-huh." she responded.

A soldier rushed up to us and saluted me. "Yes?" I asked. "Sir, there's been an emergency. You're to report to the Eclipse immediately." he told me. I turned to Yuki. "Yuki, head home and wait for Izumi." I instructed. She nodded and ran off.

_Eclipse,_ _0902 hours..._

The rest of the team was already assembled when I arrived at the hanger. "What's the mission?" I asked the commander. "Hacienda is under attack. To be specific, FAC-51, one of our KLF plants." he informed us. "Gamma's already been dispatched to the scene." stated Todd as we boarded Eclipse. "Gamma Team?" repeated Matt. "Unfortunately, their numbers have dwindled down by over half." went Jacobs. "So it's a rescue mission then, sir?" inquired Dahlia. "Not just that. Over a third of the planet's LFOs and KLFs are grown at FAC-51. We lose that facility, we could lose this war." said Cipher. "Enough chit-chat. Let's go, Omega." ordered Todd. "Roger," responded his crew.

_FAC-51, 0945 hours..._

"Bobby, toss me a mag!" the soldier radioed to the KLF beside him. "Here, it's my last one. Make it count, Kuroko!" radioed the one called Bobby as his KLF tossed his comrade a magazine. Kuroko loaded the mag into his KLF's massive gun. "Just stay down, if they spot us we're dead." barked the third KLF. "Yeah, no shit, Lucy." retorted Kuroko.

The three KLFs were huddled together behind a large boulder in the cave. The place was crawling was Image. "Are we the only ones left?" wondered Bobby. "Looks like it." responded Lucy solemnly. "Dammit! Where the hell is that support from Omega Team?" cursed Bobby impatiently. Lucy looked at her radar. "They're about six clicks away." she answered.

"How much time do these bastards have left?" Bobby asked next. Kuroko looked at his watch. "33 minutes, 4 seconds." he answered. "Look, the only thing we can do is sit tight and wait for backup." went Lucy.

…

"Unless off course you wanna charge them, guns a blazing. In which case, you're going in alone buddy." she added sarcastically. "No thanks," responded Bobby. "Then shut the hell up, Bobby!" yelled Kuroko.

_Eclipse, 1001 hours..._

"Sir," went Alice. "What is it, Alice?" inquired Todd. "I'm only picking up three IKF signatures on radar." she stated. "What? Are you serious? That can't be right. There should be a lot more. Check it again." he ordered. "I did, sir." she responded. "Crap. Then it's worse than we thought." he grunted. "Everyone to your KLFs, we're going in _now_." he ordered over the intercoms.

"We're going in now?" repeated Emma confused. "If we're going in now then that means things have really gone to hell." stated Dahlia as she jumped in TheBELLONA's cockpit. "TheBELLONA, heading out." Dahlia radioed as she sped off the launchpad. "Lets go get those calamari!" yelled Matt enthusiastically as his GA505 launched next.

...

"There, I see the entrance." I said pointing with the Nirvash's finger. The entrance was full of Image. "On my mark we charge in there. Emma, Matt, Blaze, I want you to locate and get the survivors the hell out of here!" Dahlia said. Everyone tensed up. I couldn't blame them, this was probably the deadliest mission we've ever done. "MARK!" Dahila yelled. We ignited our boosters to max and were able to get the jump on the squids. "I'll make a distraction, you get the survivors." Dahila ordered. "Roger," we responded.

We entered the cave and I look around before Matt spoke up. "There! I see them their behind that rock!" he said. We rushed to them.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked them. "Dead. We're all that's left." answered Kuroku. "C'mon, lets get you out of here." said Emma.

"Lets get the hell out of here!" screamed Matt. The six of us rushed out of the cavern. "Can you still lift?" I asked the squad. "Yeah, our boards aren't damaged." they answered. We took to the skies and began escorting them back to the ship. We were about halfway back when suddenly a huge Image appeared. It was right over Emma.

"Emma, look out!" I screamed. But Emma just stared, frozen with fear. I threw one of my boomerangs at the Image, but it wasn't fast enough. I watched in horror as the beast used one of it's tentacles to pierce Emma's cockpit. "NO!" I screamed as the Flestnia X plummeted to the ground. And that's the last thing I remember.

_Rider's high…_

_Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump. _"ZITA!" I bellowed. My mind flashed back to the day of Lillian's death. I remembered the kiss she gave me before she died."No…first Lillian, now Zita. Dammit! I'll kill you, all of you! I'll kill every last one of you monsters! AHHH!" I screamed.

A brilliant rainbow pillar lit up the sky and engulfed the Nirvash. It pealed the blue paint away. "What the hell is that?" Todd said in amazement. "The trapar values have sky rocketed." reported Hax. Todd used Eclipse's gun-cam to zoom in on the phenomenon. "What the…" he gasped.

I barreled towards the nearest enemy. "DAMMIT!" I screamed. I ripped the monster apart with the mech's hands. Blood poured over the now white LFO. "DAMMIT!" I screamed again as immediately went for the next Image. I did a Cut-back Drop Turn and I sliced the boomerang blade through the _bakemono_. "AHH!" I screamed.

"Blaze, can you hear me? Blaze, respond!" radioed Dahlia. But no response came.

Tears fell down both my cheeks. "I promised to protect you, I couldn't protect my family or Lillian. You and Yuki were the only people I had left. AAAAHHHHH!" I screamed so loud that Nirvash answered my calls of pain. The lights became more intense. I saw the giant red sphere in the sky and I rushed it.

"It's Rider's High…no Blaze is far beyond that. But...what the hell is that light? It's almost like...No, it can't be." muttered Todd from aboard his ship.

"Lets go, Nirvash!" I screamed in hatred like I had never had before. Once I was underneath the sphere I shot upward. "DIE!" I screamed as the Nirvash pierced the Image core.

The Eclipse crew watched in awe as the mech entered the core. It disappeared for moment. Then reappeared above the core. Every Image in the area ceased functioning. Then the core imploded into a cloud of dust and vanished. All way before the remaining time limit was up.

With the Image gone the Nirvash rushed to where the Flestnia X crashed. A barrier surrounded the two LFOs. I used the mech's hands to tear the cockpit open. I saw Zita lying there in a pool on her own blood. I opened my canopy and jumped from my mech to hers. "Zita!" I cried. I checked her pulse. She was alive, but unconscious. "Forgive me," I said as I ripped her clothes open and started checking for the wounds. But I found none. There wasn't even a single scratch on her body. "Thank god," were my last words before I passed out from the exhaustion on top of her. The barrier surrounding us disappeared.

_Meanwhile aboard the Eclipse..._

"The trapar values have returned to normal." reported Lloyd. He looked back at Todd. "What the hell was all that?" he asked his friend. "I don't know. The Vendetta shouldn't be capable of power like that." he said.

He radioed the Guardian typeX606 and typeX808. "Rob, Kelly, I wanted you to retrieve those two." he ordered. "Roger,"" they responded. The two landed next to white mech and what was left of the Flestnia X.

"It looks like Flestnia X is damaged beyond repair." reported Kelly. "Leave it then," said Todd. Rob looked in the cockpit. When he saw the two asleep together with Emma's clothes ripped half-off he whistled. "Get your mind out of the gutter and help me move them into Blaze's mech." his sister retorted. "Yes, sis." he said and helped her move them.

Once the unconscious Blaze and Emma were secured in the Vendetta's cockpit the twins used their mechs to transport the white LFO back to the Eclipse.

"Blaze Hamilton, who are you?" wondered Todd and the rest of Eclipse's crew. Dalhia and Matt kept looked at each other, but kept their mouth shut. They'd find out soon enough.

* * *

**A/N: Here's the new chapter. Sorry it took so long. _Somebody _wouldn't get off his lazy ass and edit the chapter like he was supposed to. You have anything to say for yourself, Ref? *Refboarder gets down on his knees and bows humbly* "Please forgive me!" apologizes Ref. Wave puts his foot on Ref's head and shoves his face deeper in the dirt, "You're damn right you're sorry!" Sorry you had to see that folks. Hopefully he's learned his leason and will get to work editing the next chapter. "Won't you?" glares at Ref. Refboarder says nothing. Anyway, please leave a review. Thanks!**

**~Wave  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Moment of Truth**

"Ugh…wha-what happen?" I went groggily as I woke up. I went to lift my arm up, but found I couldn't. It was then I noticed I was strapped to a chair with my hands bound behind my back. I was in what appeared to be an interrogation room. Standing in front of me were the Master Sergeant and Todd. "What's the meaning of this?" I demanded. "Who are you?" the MSG asked. "Huh?" I went. "I asked who you are." he repeated.

"I'm Sergeant First Class Blaze Hamilton, pilot of the Vendetta, member of Omega Team, age sixteen." I answered. He threw some photos onto the table. The pictures show the Nirvash slashing Image with a rainbow-like background.

"I'm Blaze Hamilton..." I began reciting again. "Cut the crap kid!" the MSG barked. "I looked up the Hamilton name in Belleforest. There's record of them having a daughter named Lillian but no son. Now talk!" he growled.

"He's hiding something." remarked Lloyd from behind the one-way mirror/window as he scratched chin. "Yeah the question is what?" Rob asked.

I could see that there was no way of hiding it anymore. "Alright, you want the truth?" I spat glaring at the MSG. The MSG glared back at me. "My name is Hi Thurston, son of Haru and James Thurston, descendant of Renton and Eureka Thurston, pilot of the Nirvash typeHOPE, age fifteen." I admitted. It was the first time in months I told the truth about myself. "And I'm a soldier." I added with a glare. "We'll see about that." retorted Todd.

"A Thurston? It all makes sense now. That light, it must have been a Seventh Swell. We've all heard the stories, but I never expected such raw power. But fifteen years old, what the hell were you thinking boy! You do realize that you're under the age limit?" the MSG yelled.

"Fifteen or sixteen, the Image don't care. They'll kill all of us regardless of age." I shot back. "Ain't that the damn truth." Todd grunted. "At least the Nirvash part and you being a Thurston clears some of it up. The weird lights, the Cut-back Drop Turn, I mean there's only been a hand full of people to ever do that move in an LFO other than you, Todd." remarked the MSG.

"How did you trigger it?" the MSG asked. "Trigger what?" I asked. "The Seventh Swell." said Todd. "I don't remember triggering anything. The last thing I remember was seeing the Flestnia X get shot down." I answered. _Zita. _"Emma! Is she okay?" I asked frantically. "Corporal Emma Datura is fine." stated Todd. "Thank god," I cried.

"So, what are you going to do with me?" I demanded. "You'll be demoted to Sergeant and released." replied the MSG. "That's it?" I questioned. "I'm not gonna lie to you kid. The IEF needs a power like that. There's no way we'd let you go." stated Todd.

"Figures," I muttered. "I just have one more question before we release you. That word you cried out before our communications with you went dead; Zita, what does it mean?" he asked. _I called out Emma's real name? Oh no. I can't let them find out about her. _I looked my superiors right in the eyes. "Like I said, I don't remember what happened, so I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know what a 'Zita' is." I lied to them. "Fair enough." responded Todd.

After that I was released and I returned to my quarters. Yuki greeted me with a hug. "Hi, welcome back!" she said with a grin. "I'm home. Listen, Yuki..." I began. I explained to her what happened. Once I was done Yuki thought for a moment. "So...does that mean we can stop hiding who we are and I can go back to calling you, Hi-_nii_ like I used to when we're around other people?" she asked. I smiled. "Yeah, that's right. We don't have to hide who we are anymore." I answered.

"Tomorrow I'm going to go to see the doctor. Maybe she can help me remember what happened." I told Yuki. "Okay, Hi-_nii_," she replied. After that I made dinner for us, read Yuki a bedtime story, and went to bed.

I awoke the next morning and jumped in the shower. After I was done bathing I exited it and began getting dressed. As I did my upper back started to sting a little. So I turned around and looked at it in the mirror. When I did I saw two tiny bumps. One on each shoulder-blade. "Huh. I must have hit my back on something during the mission yesterday." I thought out loud. The pain wasn't that bad so I thought nothing of it and got dressed the rest of the way.

After I was done I locked up and made my way to the doctor's office. I knocked on the door. "Come in," responded Rin. I entered. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Hi Thurston." she said with a smirk. "So I guess everyone knows who I really am by now, huh?" I said. "Word travels fast." she replied. "So what can I do for you?" she asked.

I sat down on the bed. "Yesterday I blacked out during the battle. I can't remember anything that happened. No matter how hard I try. I was wondering if you knew of some way that could help me recall what happened." I asked her. "There is a way. You've heard of hypnosis, right?" she asked me. I nodded. "Well, if you want I could hypnotize you and attempt to recover your memories that way." the doctor suggested. "You can do that?" I questioned. "With your permission, yes. I can record the session on this recorder. Then I can play it back for you." she informed me as she retrieved the device from her desk. "Alright then, let's do that." I responded.

Rin instructed me to lay down and close my eyes. She told me to imagine a happy place where I felt comfortable and secure, such as relaxing in a meadow beside a gently running stream. I immediately thought of Zita and Yuki. I pictured us back at my home in Belle Forest. Living together as one big happy family. That was my happy place.

"Just let your feet relax, and your legs relax. Feel your hips relaxing, and your waist relaxing. Feel your chest relaxing, and your arms relaxing. Your shoulders relaxing, and your neck and head relaxing. Feel your entire body relaxing, all over." she instructed. I did. And before long I drifted into a deep sleep.

I awoke to the sound of Rin snapping her fingers. "So did it work?" I asked her. "Yes, we're done." she answered. "Alright, let me hear the recording." I told her. "Are you sure you want to?" she asked. "Huh? Of course I'm sure. That's why I came here. Because I wanted to remember." I stated.

Rin began the recording...

"_It's yesterday. You're in your LFO. It's during your battle with the Image at FAC-51. You've just rescued the survivors. Tell me what happens next." said Rin's voice. "We're on our way back to the Eclipse. There's an Image over the Flestnia. No, it's going to get her." said my voice. "No, Zita!" I screamed. "Zita? Who is Zita?" asks Rin. "Zita is Emma." I reply. "Is Zita your nickname for her?" she asks. "No, I'm not telling. You can't make me." I reply. "Alright, let's continue. What happens next?" inquires Rin._

"_The Flestnia falls to the ground. There's nothing I can do to help her." I state. "And then it comes, the rage, the pain. There's something happening to Nirvash. It's like a giant rainbow. I think it's a Seventh Swell." I say. "It's as if Nirvash has answered my cries of agony. There's a trail of orange-red trapar behind me. Is that from me?" wonders my voice._

"_I go after the nearest enemy and I rip it apart. It's blood sprays over me. Then I go after the next enemy. And another. And another. And another. I want them all to die. I want them to pay for what they did to her. This feeling, it feels good. I feel like I'm invincible. I see the core up in the sky. It like it's mocking me. I want to destroy it. I rush towards it with my knives draw and I pierce it. I go straight through the center of it and I come out the other end. And then the all the Image stop and die. I've done it. I've killed them all." says my voice._

"_And then what happens?" asks Rin. "I go to where the Flestnia X crashed. It's in horrible shape. A barrier surrounds us. I think the Nirvash is trying to protect us. I use my LFO's hands to rip Zita's cockpit open. There's blood everywhere. I open my cockpit and jump from mine to hers. I check her pulse. She's still alive. There's so much blood. She must be bleeding from somewhere. I have to help her. I tear her clothes and look for wounds, but I can't find any." I state. "You can't find any? Is Emma Coralian?" asks Rin. "No, I'm not telling. You can't make me." I reply. "Alright, then. What happens next?" she asks. "I'm exhausted. I fall asleep on top of her." I answer._

"_Now I'm going to snap my fingers, and when I do you will be feeling wide awake, fully alert, and completely refreshed." said Rin._

With that the recording ended.

With my eyes widened I picked up the device. "Is this the only recording you have?" I asked her. "Yes, why?" she wondered. I threw the device on the ground and used my boot to stomp it into a thousand pieces. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "You can't tell anyone about what I said today. As far as everyone else is concerned, I still don't remember what happened. Got it?" I told her sternly. "I wouldn't have told anyone anything to begin with. There's Doctor-Patient Confidentiality you idiot! You didn't have to go and destroy my recorder!" she retorted. I couldn't take any chances. I had to protect Emma's identity. "I'll replace it." I told her as I cleaned up the mess. "Whatever, just get out of my office, Hi." she sighed and shooed me away. I apologized to her before I left the office.

I decided to visit the hanger. When I got there I found Emma standing beside the Nirvash. She had one of her hands placed on the mech. "What are you doing here?" I asked her. She turned to me. "I wanted to thank both of you for saving me." she replied. I turned away, unable to look her in the eyes. "I didn't save you. When I got to you, you were already healed." I answered. Emma took hold of my hand. "But you tried to save me. And for that, I'm glad. Thank you." she told me sincerely. I looked into her eyes. "You're welcome." I replied.

Then she frowned. "What the matter?" I asked. "I'm not sure how much use I'll be without a LFO now. You know what they say, a pilot without their LFO is kinda like a fish out of water. Right now, I'm useless." she said sadly. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure something out." I reassured her.

Just then a man with a clipboard came in. "Sergeant Hi Thurston and Corporal Emma Datura?" the mysterious man asked. "Yes," we answered. "Good, I've been looking all over for you two. I'm here to inform you that from this day forward Corporal Datura is to be your partner." he responded. "Huh? What do you mean by that?" I questioned. "Do I have to spell it out for you? You and the Corporal will will be sharing the Nirvash." he stated. My face lit up. _Zita and I will be piloting the Nirvash together as one. _"By the look on your face I can tell that obviously doesn't bother you." he remarked with a chuckle. "That's great news! See Emma, I told you everything would work out." I told her with a smile. "Well, have fun you two." said the man as he turned around and walked out.

"Are you sure I'm even worthy of sitting next to you in her?" she asked once we were alone again. "Emma, come with me. I want to show you something." I told her as I took hold of her hand. I led her back to my quarters. Yuki was still asleep when we entered. "What did you want to show me?" she inquired as I looked through Yuki's toy-box. _Found it. _"This," I told her. I showed her the Compac Drive I'd given Yuki. Her eyes widened once she saw the word glowing across it. "That's..." she gasped.

**Z I T A**

"I think this means we're supposed to be together. I've had this Compac Drive since I was a little kid. And it wasn't until recently your name started to appear on it. Yuki noticed it when I gave it to her. So to answer your earlier question; yes, you're definitely worthy." I told her. "Besides...I can't picture piloting Nirvash with anyone but you." I added as I stared straight into her eyes.

"Hi..." she said. We shared a kiss.

A month went by. I was never treated quite the same again after everyone on base found out who I was and what happened at Hacienda. Everywhere I went the higher-ups watched me carefully. It was like I'd become their prisoner. And the ones that didn't seemed to avoid me just about altogether. It was like they were afraid of me and Nirvash. Even some of the other Omega Team members seemed scared of me. The only ones who treated me the same as before were Matt, Dahlia, and Emma of course. Probably because they knew who I really was beforehand. It wasn't a good feeling, but I didn't really blame them. Even I was scared of my own power.

And then it came. My next mission. Emma and I were to infiltrate the growing gang in Bester known as 'Kazoku', find the leader, and bring him to justice. It would be just the two of us. No back-up. We didn't know much about the leader. Other than he went by the name Joe and was supposed to be in his late 20s to early 30s. Kazoku had been stealing military supplies and equipment. In one of their latest raids they stole fourteen LFOs from one of the local plants.

At the time I was unaware that this next mission would also be my last.

* * *

**A/N: And here's the next chapter. The story has basically been leading up to this moment. When Hi and Zita will pilot the Nirvash typeHOPE together. Hope you enjoyed it. Hmm...I wonder how Nirvash will perform with Zita in the passenger seat? Next, Chapter 12: Stay Together For The Kids. What trial will these two face next? Stay tuned!**

**P.S. Thanks Ref for editing this chapter relatively quickly. I appreciate it.**

**~Wave**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Stay Together For The Kids**

We entered the outskirts of the town in my now gray (much to my dismay) Nirvash. The military had camouflaged it. After I parked it in an abandoned warehouse Emma and I disembarked for the town. As I looked around the city it reminded me of my hometown.

"So now what do we do?" Emma asked me. "Dunno. Maybe we should start by asking around." I replied shrugging. "This is a supposed to be a covert operation. That's probably not a good idea. Anyone could be a member of Kazoku." Emma reminded me. "You're right." I sighed.

"Hey, you gonna pay for that?" I heard someone yell. I looked over at one of the nearby food stands and saw a shop-keeper glaring at a twelve year-old boy holding a bag. "I..." went the boy. He looked like he was about to run. It was clear that he was shoplifting. But the boy also looked like he hadn't eaten in days.

So for whatever reason, I approached the two. "There you are." I yelled. "Huh?" went the shop-keep. "I've been looking all over for you." I continued. The boy stared at me. "You forgot your money at home again. Lucky for you I brought it." I told the boy. "You know this kid?" the owner asked. "Yeah, he's my little brother." I lied. "What are you doing?" the boy mouthed. "Just play along." I mouthed back. "Here," I said to the boy as I handed him my wallet. "Thanks, _onii-chan._" said the boy playing along. The boy handed the owner the money to pay for the food. Then the three of us left the shop.

Once we were out of site from the shop-keeper the boy handed me back my wallet. "Thanks," said the boy. "You're welcome. But you shouldn't be shop-lifting." I told him. "You do what you gotta do to get by. Why'd you help me?" he inquired. "Dunno, I just felt like it." I shrugged. "My name's Kaz." he introduced himself. Emma and I introduced ourselves as well.

"Why were you stealing food?" inquired Emma. "It's not for just me. It's for my brothers and sisters." he explained. "Your siblings?" I repeated. "Yeah. Hey, would you like to meet them? My family?" he inquired. Emma and I looked at each other. We didn't exactly have any leads on Kazoku so we figured why not? We had some time to kill. "Um...sure." responded Emma.

Kaz led us to what appeared to be a large abandoned warehouse. When we entered the building it was anything but. There were people everywhere. Most of them were in their late teens, but I noticed some little kids too. There were a few adults here and there. One of the teenagers who was playing pool looked up at us. I suddenly felt uneasy. We were surrounded by people we didn't know.

"Hey Kaz, who are they?" the teenage boy asked. "This is Hi and Emma. They helped me out. Look, I brought back food." responded Kaz. "What did mother tell you about bringing home strays?" he asked. "Sorry, the just seemed really nice." protested Kaz.

"If we're intruding then we can leave. We don't want to be a bother to anyone." spoke up Emma politely. There was another voice. "How did you help Kaz?" the voice asked. "I gave him some money to pay for his food." I answered. "I see." said the voice.

A woman in her late twenties to early thirties approached us. "Thank you for helping my son." she told us. "You're Kaz's mother? You look a little...young to be his mother." I remarked skeptical. The woman laughed. "Why thank you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joanna Sturgeon. But you can call me Jo. Everyone else does." she stated with a friendly smile.

"Wait, you're Jo? Then does that mean that this is Kazoku?" I blurted out without thinking as I looked around. Suddenly everyone drew a weapon. "Well you see now, that really all depends." replied Jo still smiling. "O-on?" I gulped. Her smiled disappeared and she glared at us. "On who you are and what your intentions are." she answered. "I..." I stammered.

"Thank god we finally found you. We want to join the family." spoke up Emma. "Oh really and why's that?" inquired Jo. "We thought you could help us." said Emma. "With what? Kazoku isn't exactly a normal gang. You said you helped Kaz out. And I'm thankful for that, but we're not looking for any new members. Go home to your parents, kids and never come back." retorted Jo. "We...don't have any. We're orphans. The Image killed them." I told her. "And the money we had, we stole it." added Emma. Everyone lowered their weapons.

"Is that so?" asked Jo. Emma and I nodded. "Let's take a walk...Hi, was it? Your girlfriend can stay here." said Jo. I placed myself in front of Emma to protect her. "Don't worry we're not going to do anything to her. You have my word." promised Jo. "Go on, Hi, I'll be OK." Emma told me. "You sure?" I asked her. Emma nodded. "Shall we?" replied Jo. I followed her. "As I said, Kazoku isn't a normal gang. Everyone here is an orphan. Myself included." began Jo.

Jo told me how Kazoku was formed. It was after the Image had reappeared. Jo had just lost her family, like so many others. But instead of wallowing in depression she did what she could to help others who had just been orphaned as well. She started by providing food and shelter for them just until support from the government came. But it never did.

They started following her like lost skyfish. They started calling her their mother. "Can you imagine what it's like to be called a mother? It's not a bad feeling." she told me. Jo kept taking others in and her small family grew and grew. She resorted to stealing to help them. "Before I knew it, I'd formed a gang. We called ourselves Kazoku, because that's what we were, Family. I never intended to form a gang. We were just looking out for each other. It was entirely accidental. Over time I came to love them, all of them. They've become my precious children. It's because of them I'm the woman I am today." she told me.

"If it wasn't for my guidance who knows what might've happened to them. They might've starved to death. Or worse, become killers." she said. "Now we may steal and threaten, but we never kill. Each life is precious. Most of the weapons you see out there are fakes. Do you really think I'd give a bunch of weapons to children? What kind of mother would I be if I did? The military never came to our aide so what else was I supposed to do, but take them under my wing." she told me.

"The military never came?" I repeated. "You're not from around here are you? Alright, let me ask you this: Did you see one single garrison when you came to our little town?" she asked me. I thought for a moment. "No," I replied. "Now who do you think it is that protects this town from the Image? The answer is us. The Family are the ones protecting Bester, not the IEF. That's why we…'acquired' some LFOs from a local plant." she stated.

…

"You said you wanted to join Kazoku, right?" she inquired. "That's right." I lied. "We'll then, you'll have go through a little gang initiation first. Call it test of your loyalty." she said grinning. "What sort of test?" I inquired. Jo tossed me a spray-paint canister. "You any good with graffiti, kid?" she asked.

…

After vandalizing a back-alley wall Jo welcomed us to the family. Honestly I didn't think it would be that easy, but it was. Jo introduced us to the rest of Kazoku. We already knew Kaz. The one at the pool table earlier was Rick...and so on and so on. It was hard to believe that this one lady was taking care of so many. And not just human orphans, there were many Coralian orphans as well. It certainly was a daikazoku.

"So do you two have a place to stay?" Jo asked us once she finished introducing everybody. "Well for now we're staying at an old warehouse on the outskirts of town." I stated. "In that old building? You'll catch your death there. It can get pretty cold at night No, you're staying here tonight. This place may not look like much, but at least it's heated." she told us.

"Rick," Jo called. The boy came over. "Yes, mother?" he listened. "We have a spare room in the back with a bed don't we? I want you to take Hi and Emma to it. Our newest family members will be spending the night here." she told her son. "Alright. Follow me." Rick instructed us. He led us to a tiny room. Inside the room was a small twin-sized bed and not much else. "You'll have to share the bed. That or one of you will have to sleep on the floor. Well, good night and welcome to The Family." he told us. With that Rick left the room.

"Well, that certainly was easier than I thought it would be. So far so good." I remarked once we were alone. "Yeah, it almost seems too easy though. Do you think she suspects us?" wondered Emma. Zita removed her hazel contacts, placed them in her case, and crawled into bed. "Dunno. Too soon to say for sure. I will say one thing though. Jo certainly is amazing. Being able to take care of all of them." I commented. "Yeah, I think so too." agreed Emma. "You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." I told her.

"But...the bed's big enough for two. Can't we just share it like Rick said?" said Emma. I stood there for a moment, stunned. "Wh-what? But I'm a boy and you're a girl. We can't do that." I stammered. "But you used to sleep with Yuki in the same bed all the time before we got transferred. You told me yourself." she replied. "That's different. Yuki and I are siblings." I explained. "Please, Hi?" pleaded Emma looking up at me with her true lavender eyes. As I looked into them, I found myself unable to refuse. I felt as if I was under some sort of spell.

"Alright, scoot over a bit." I sighed as I crawled into bed next to her. My heart was racing as I did. Then I felt something soft and squishy touch my shoulder which only made my heart race faster. "Um...Emma your boob is touching me." I told her. "Oh, sorry." she apologized scooting over a bit more. "Hi," she began. "Yeah?" I listened. "Would it be alright if I held your hand?" she requested. "Sure." I answered. "Thanks," she said grasping it. "Good night," I told her. "Good night," she said back. Then the two of us drifted asleep, still holding hands.

* * *

**A/N: And here's the next chapter. I know I promised in the last preview to tell how the Nirvash typeHOPE would perform with Zita in the passenger seat, but that has been pushed back a chapter. Sorry. I promise the next chapter will contain it. Next time, Chapter 13: Behind These Hazel Eyes  
**

**P.S. Thanks again Ref for editing this chapter relatively quickly. I appreciate it. And I'm sorry I lost the entire original dream segment you wrote for me that is needed for the next chapter. Hopefully you'll be able to recall most of it. (Ref grumbles and face-palms) "Yeah, yeah," mutters Ref clearly displeased. Well anyway, stay tuned!  
**

**~Wave**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Behind These Hazel Eyes**

_Zita_

_'Zita,' _a voice beckoned_. _"Go away," I told the voice. _'Zita,'_ it called again. "Leave me alone. That's not my name anymore. My name is Emma." I told the voice. The voice laughed. "What's so funny?" I demanded. _'What is that we sense? Love? For another? How absurd.' _it cackled. "Shut up!" I screamed at it. _'Zita, how could anyone possibly love you? You're a monster.' _it mocked. "You're wrong! I'm not a monster! And Hi loves me regardless of what I am! He accepted me when no one else would! And I love him!" I stated. It laughed again. "Stop laughing!" I screamed. _'Poor confused little Zita. You're wrong, you only think you love him, because that's what we programmed you to think.' _it said. "No! You're wrong! The love we feel for each other is real!" I told them. _'You seem to have forgotten what you are. Here, let us remind you.' _the voices said.

Suddenly I found myself in a field of carnage. I was covered in blood and there were destroyed buildings all around me. It looked like a war zone. "What is this? Where am I?" I demanded. _'This is the day you were born, your birthday.' _they told me_._ I was surrounded by dead bodies. The gruesome site made me feel ill. "No, it's a lie. You're lying. Why are you showing me this?" I muttered in disbelief. I heard a small child crying. I looked down. There was a small boy clinging to my leg as he cried. "Give them back! Give me my mommy and daddy back!" the boy cried. He looked like he was around the same age as Yuki.

Suddenly a hand, my hand, reached down, grabbed the boy by the throat, and lifted him up in the air. "_Stop it! You're going to kill him!" _I screamed at…myself. The boy struggled, squirming as my hand squeezed his neck. "_Stop!" _I cried. But my body wouldn't listen, all I could do was watch helplessly as I...

And then there was a sickening snap as the boy's neck broke and he went limp. My body didn't even so much as flinch. I stared at the now lifeless boy for a moment, almost as if I was examining him, before I threw him into a concrete wall. And then I continued walking on, like a soulless doll. _'You see? __This__ is what you really are, Zita. A cold, heartless, murder. You're just an animal, like us.' _the voices cackled maniacally.

_Hi_

I awoke to the sound of a bloodcurdling scream. I shot upright. Emma was screaming her lungs out and covered in sweat. "Emma! Emma, what's wrong?" I asked her frantically. Her eyes darted around the room, as if checking she was really there. _She must have had another nightmare. 'They' must have contacted her again. _"Emma it was just a nightmare, calm down." I told her as I grabbed a hold of her and embraced her. Her screaming ceased and she stared at me. "H-Hi?" she asked trembling. "That's right, I'm here Emma." I told her gently. That's when Emma burst into tears. "It's alright, it was just a dream." I said as I stroked her hair. "But that's just it, it wasn't a dream." she shook her head. "With these hands I...with these hands I killed someone." she sobbed.

"What are you talking about?" I inquired. Emma told me of her dream, her memory to be more precise. "It was horrible! He was only a child. And I picked him up and snapped his neck. Then threw him like he was a rag-doll! I'm a killer!" she wept uncontrollably. "But you didn't know any better, right? You'd just been born." I told her. I knew it was a lame excuse, but I didn't know what else to say. "There's no excuse for what I did! I killed an innocent!" she continued crying.

I wrapped my arms around Emma and held her tightly. "I don't care what sins you committed in the past. The Emma I know now would never do such a thing. The past is the past." I told her. "How? How can you still love me when these hands are tainted with blood?" she asked. "What about me, Emma? How can you still love me when I've killed countless of your brethren? I'm no different than you." I said staring straight into her eyes. "You're wrong. They're not my brethren. I feel nothing for them." she told me. "Then you're lying to yourself. You think I don't see the pain it causes you when kill another of your kind? Because I do." I told her. "Hi..." she muttered.

"Emma, I promise that I'll always, always, stay by your side. I'll always love you and cherish you forevermore no matter what this world throws at us. This I swear." I told her gently. She sniffed and let a laugh escape her. "It almost sounds like you're proposing to me." she laughed.

…

"And what...if I were proposing to you, Emma? What would you say then?" I asked. She stared at me for a moment. "I would say that we're still too young for something like that. Technically I'm only two years old." she replied. I decided to finally let her know. The secret which I'd been keeping for so long.

"Emma, there's something I never told you about Lillian. The two of us, we were betrothed." I admitted. "Betrothed?" she repeated. "It means we were arranged to be married. Since we were babies. It was something our parents arranged. And when she died, I thought I'd never love another woman again. And then, I met you. You're the one who taught me to love again." I told her.

"Why are you telling me this?" she wondered. "Because I want you to know how much you mean to me." I said. "I'm that important to you, huh?" she sniffed. "More than you'll ever know." I replied. Emma smiled. "Arigatou, Hi." she said as she held me. I wiped her tears away and brought her into a kiss.

"Feel better now?" I asked. "Yeah," she nodded. "I'm going to go get us some breakfast. I'll be right back, 'kay?" I told her. "Okay," she responded. I got up and left the room. When I stepped out I saw Jo leaning against the side of our door. "She OK? I heard screaming in there." she asked. "She's fine. She just had a nightmare about the day she lost her parents." I lied. Jo placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, all of us still have those nightmares from time to time." she sighed. "Is there any food around here? We haven't eaten since yesterday." I asked. "There's some leftover pizza in the fridge. Go help yourself." she told me. "Thanks," I said.

I went to the make-shift kitchen and opened the fridge. It was full of mostly pizza. "Wow, that's a lot of pizza." I remarked as I grabbed a few slices. Then I went back to my room.

"Breakfast is served," I said as I handed Emma her plate. "Pizza?" she remarked raising an eyebrow. "It's better than nothing." I shrugged as I ate. "So...what's our next move?" inquired Emma as she dug in. "Know thy enemy. We get to know them." I responded. "Ryoukai," acknowledged Emma.

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**A/N: And here's the next chapter. I know I promised in the last two previews to tell how the Nirvash typeHOPE would perform with Zita in the passenger seat, but that has been pushed back a chapter again. It's just that this chapter needed to be put in. Sorry. I promise the next chapter will definitely contain it. Next time, Chapter 13: Awake and Alive. Stay tuned!  
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**P.S. I'm so glad you remembered the dream segment you wrote for me Ref! I think it's probably a bit better than the original. "You're welcome. But I think in the future I should leave any portion I write at my house. You'll probably just lose them...again." replies Ref. Good idea. It's probably for the best that you do. "So I have another idea for..." begins Ref. Woah! We haven't even finished the first book! Just hold onto that idea. You're getting ahead of everything! Anyway take care everyone and please review. I miss reading them.  
**

**~Wave**


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